People who have been the victims of serious crimes want the police to investigate them as a matter of priority.

But increasingly in Brighton, it is taking weeks to look at these offences. In many cases, they are not being investigated at all.

We all know the police are hard-pressed and that crimes have to be put into perspective.

No one expects a high-profile murder investigation to be set aside while police look at a minor scuffle.

But new Sussex Chief Constable Ken Jones needs to take his senior officers aside and give them a word of advice.

It must be wrong that drug addicts are able to use a car park at Vantage Point, near Preston Circus, Brighton, for illegal activities with impunity, even though the caretaker calls police time and time again.

Only this week, Mick Griffiths, from Brighton, was told police would not investigate a serious hit-and-run case because no one was injured.

Since The Argus highlighted his plight, we have received several other similar complaints of inaction by the police.

Cities such as New York have proved so-called broken-window policing works.

If you stop small crimes, such as minor vandalism, it creates a settled atmosphere, in which it is hard for more serious crime to flourish.

The reverse is also true. If police ignore crimes the average person considers serious, a district or city can quickly descend into lawlessness.

Police tell people whose complaints are not be investigated they may be disappointed. That's not the right word. They feel betrayed.

While they are law-abiding, they see other people committing crimes of some severity and getting away with them completely.

Hit-and-run crashes and taking hard drugs are serious offences. The people who commit them must be caught.

If they are not, the danger is they will repeat their crimes or feel they can get away with something even worse.

The force has a priority plan and rightly so. It sounds as if some officers have been interpreting it over-zealously.

Mr Jones has been making all the right noises since he arrived in Sussex. Now he needs to back those words with action.

If hit-and-runs are not investigated, people will start wondering what on earth the police, from Mr Jones downwards, are for.