Since the wisdom of informed Government opinion has decided that many policemen are swinging the lead and abusing overtime, would the Government please suggest at which stage in our shifts supervisors should direct "Arrest no more villains".

Since the detection rates are apparently so low, why does the Government condemn officers for arresting villains at any stage in a shift, thereby endeavouring to increase detection rates? We can't have it both ways.

If the Government is so concerned about saving taxpayers' money, perhaps it should first take a serious look at the abuses to and cost of the legal system (the criminals' welfare state).

In this, solicitors and barristers (second-rate actors, many of whom are MPs) earn a fortune through legal aid and, having created an archaic legal system - still in place today - use truth-blocking mechanisms to prevent the search for truth yet, in the long-drawn-out process of their "days/weeks in court", use up taxpayers' money at a rate policemen can only dream of.

-Trevor Hinkley, Northease Gardens, Hove