Be fair to the plods!!

My partner read what I wrote earlier - and made a good point.

"The police don't bother because what's the point of arresting the dealers? They get let out anyhow. It's not like they're going to jail. They'll be out on the streets in no time."

True. But if there were a few police visible in Camden, wouldn't it make a difference?

Which brings up the point that the jails are full to bursting. Why?

One big reason is that Gordon Brown refused to pony up the cash when he was Chancellor. He preferred to have it invested on more important things, like Lesbian, Bisexual and Equal Opportunity Managers in towns up and down the land.

Another big reason is no sense of priorities - jailing people like single mothers or old age pensioners for trivial offences while villainy in front of everyone's noses is ignored.

"To govern is always to choose among disadvantages" said De Gaulle. But surely some choices are not that complicated.