IT APPEARS then, that if the glaring front page headline in todays Echo (June 23) is true that 75 per cent of crimes reported in a year in county remain...unsolved, no wonder crime rates continue to soar.

After all, why wouldnt they, when the odds of getting nabbed by the long arm of the law is diminishing at such an alarming rate. Commit a crime and you have a 75 per cent chance of not being caught and brought to book.

It almost becomes a tantalising idea if of course, you happen to be of the persuasion that robbing and maybe causing some other miscellaneous criminal mayhem is what you do, then why not up your game.

Why even think of changing your lifestyle?

The police are as near as damn it, emasculated.

Now, Im not in possession of all the facts relating to what the police authority prioritise in this area.

Just what sort of crimes are more important etc.

Whether burglary for example, is not a crime that the police take seriously?

Superintendent Caroline Naughton explains that the force had been proactive in tackling drug offences and ran a number of drug related operations across the county. So perhaps this is one of the reasons why other crimes receive far less attention?

And why police numbers are stretched to breaking point?

Far too much police resources are being diverted to tackling and catching those people involved with selling and using illegal drugs.

Just an observation.

Here is another observation.

Would it not be better to decriminalise drugs?

And in doing so, free up countless millions of pounds to spend on recruiting more police officers that would then be available to bring down unsolved crime rates.

Besides, the tax-payer, via the police and other law enforcement agencies worldwide, have been waging a war on drugs for decades without any success.

Billions of pounds have been expended to no meaningful result.

The current war on drugs is unwinnable.

Lastly, is it really appropriate to lock up people (thereby criminalising them) who sometimes through no fault of their own, find it necessary to buy illegal drugs just to survive?

Andrew Martin

Kitchener Road, Weymouth

Continued here:

Letters: Ease war on drugs - Dorset Echo