I'M SORRY but I'm going to need it explained to me. Why is a policeman walking around our villages dressed as a burglar telling everybody to lock, bolt, alarm

I'M SORRY but I'm going to need it explained to me. Why is a policeman walking around our villages dressed as a burglar telling everybody to lock, bolt, alarm or illuminate everything?Some of us would like to return to the time where we could venture out without having to worry about whether we have bolted everything down. It would also follow that this exercise will only mean that the burglar will switch targets, which will mean it is the people who can't afford alarms and heavy duty padlocks who will be the victims. As a rule of thumb that will be the elderly. How long will it be before insurance companies refuse to pay out because victims went against police advice and left a window ajar? Where will this spiral take us when everything in the UK is bolted down, padlocked, illuminated or alarmed? Will the next advice be to install metal shutters or build moats, perhaps putting crocodiles in them? It perhaps may be a useful exercise if we could be confident that the police are doing a good job and we had a justice system we could trust, but they are not and we haven't. It is therefore a sticking plaster and presumably merely a good way of maximising publicity for a policeman 'on the beat', even if he was dressed as a burglar. This letter is not just aimed at the police, but for our MP John Penrose to take a message to Parliament that we require proper policing and proper justice. It also occurs that if people spot a 'burglar' walking around the village and are reassured that it is just a policeman dressed up, then they are not going to take too much notice on the next occasion they spot a 'burglar', which may well be the genuine article.We often hear about police budgets being inadequate so how come there is enough money for these cheap stunts, enough resources to allow police cars to be parked redundant at St Georges Courthouse for long periods while officers give evidence and seemingly plenty of resources to pursue the soft 'crimes' in order to reach the targets.I rather suspect that even if 'Bobby the Burglar' carried his surname they wouldn't be able to catch him unless he passes through a speed camera on his way home.PAUL ARNOLD - Purn Way, Bleadon