YP Letters: We pay price for being too soft on crime

THE revelation by the Government that crime, fraud and embezzlement are losing the country over £47bn in revenue leads me to ask why on earth doesn’t the Government do the maths.

Bill Carmichael: Time to focus on real crimes

Ministers should see that by investing at least half of that figure in the police force – and therefore by giving the police the resources they need so as to catch and process the criminals – they would save well over that amount by the cut in crime and the losses.

Tom Lees: Tories could pay electoral price for police cuts

Logical to me of course, but not the Government which is apparently still happy to fiddle while Rome burns.

In my opinion, I think one of the main reasons why crime is on the increase is that the CPS appears happy to let those that the police do manage to apprehend off the hook regardless of the crime.

You only have to watch the videos of the police chases where youths drive recklessly endangering life and limb of others as well as the police, only for a caption to come up that the CPS released the culprits without charge due to a small technicality. All that police time and risk for nothing. That’s the CPS for you – not fit for purpose.

The other reason is that there is a severe lack of respect for the law these days. Those that get away with small misdemeanours realise the risk of getting caught is virtually nil and so go on to commit greater crimes, even malicious wounding and murder.

It costs the taxpayer approximately £47,000 per prisoner per annum to keep them locked up in comfort that many a pensioner would envy, so where is the logic in that?

A far better way, and I know it sounds archaic to say it, but I honestly think a dose of corporal punishment would be better and a spell doing National Service.

In the case of murder – and provided there is irrefutable proof – we should invoke the death penalty.

Sadly to say, I think we have become, as a country, too soft in our approach to those that break the law and the Government is condoning this.

Hard to name one good PM

From: Coun Tim Mickleburgh (Lab), Boulevard Avenue, Grimsby.

WITH reference to previous correspondence, I can’t think of a single good Prime Minister over the last 50 years (The Yorkshire Post, October 31).

Harold Wilson in 1966-70 was a disappointment, given that he’d once resigned over the introduction of prescription charges. Edward Heath (1970-74) was also no great shakes, getting the blame for taking us into Europe without a vote. Wilson in 1974-6 was a shadow of his former self, overseeing inflation rising to 26.9 per cent and post-war record unemployment, while James Callaghan (1976-79) preceded Margaret Thatcher with spending cuts in public expenditure.

Thatcher (1979-90) may have been admired by those on the right, but being on the left I have a different view of her years in office.

Her successor John Major (1992-97) was responsible for the privatisation of the railways, while Tony Blair (1997-2007) was a disgrace to his party even before the Iraq war.

Gordon Brown (2007-10) struggled against a deteriorating economic situation, while David Cameron (2010-16) made matters worse with austerity measures that impacted hardest on the poorest.

As for Theresa May (2016 to date), her term of office has been a battle against her divided party over Europe.

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

I THINK it is a toss up when it comes to the worst Prime Minister we have had in recent years.

Tony Blair who took us into the Iraq war and allowed unlimited immigration.

Gordon Brown with signing our sovereignty away or Theresa May cutting police and prison staff and putting us all at risk of being victims of crime. Should Jeremy Corbyn get into No 10, he could eclipse them all.

From: Carl Anthony Hampshire, New Smithy Drive, Thurlstone, Sheffield.

IN reply to your correspondent Gordon Lawrence, what about the disaster of Margaret Thatcher? She destroyed everything in sight apart from the Health Service. Given more time, that would have been next. She was the most uncaring PM I can remember and I am 74.

Ditch waste of HS2 project

From: Stu Mitchell, Harrogate.

I READ Sir Terry Morgan’s piece about HS2 with interest (The Yorkshire Post, November 2).

For me, HS2 is too little, too late. Most European countries have had high-speed rail links for years, if not decades.

HS2 seeks to pull money and wealth out of the North and move it to London. Why does it make sense? What would be far better for the North would be the proposed HS3 option, spanning from Liverpool across to Yorkshire.

By the time HS2 is ready, train journeys will be an old technology. Hyperloop will have been established, and virtual reality meetings will be far easier and cheaper. Electric, automated cars moving at high speed will be the norm.

Why should we continue with this white elephant when it will be out of date before it opens?

From: J A King, Thurgoland, Sheffield.

HOW negligent of our local MPs and councillors (not all) who, in general, support the spending of vast sums of the taxpayers’ money on the unnecessary HS2 while allowing the people they are supposed to represent to suffer with a poor and an appalling service on dilapidated and outdated rolling stock (The Yorkshire Post, November 2).

This money should be immediately diverted to upgrade services and rail infrastructure in the North.