METROPOLITAN Police Commissioner John Stevens has criticised the Criminal Justice System, saying that it has failed to keep persistent criminals behind bars. He has also criticised the courts for letting criminals go free and urged the Home Secretary to make appropriate changes in the law.

I totally agree about having persistent criminals behind bars but it can not be called a fair justice system if it fails to provide safeguards for the accused. It is a serious and thorny problem for society as a whole but, regrettably, Mr Stevens fails to recognise the incompetence of the police force in all this.

Their job is to gather evidence against the accused and present it to the courts. It seems to me that the Police Commissioner is trying to be a policeman and a judge at the same time! Obviously, it is annoying for the police when a criminal escapes justice, but we must be able to distinguish between the hopes of the police and the court's justice.

The police's own record on charging people wrongly and without proper evidence has also been well documented, yet he is blaming the courts for leniency. A number of innocent people have been sent to prison for crimes they did not commit. Remember the Birmingham Six? So, who was responsible for the fabricated evidence?

The police can arrest and charge someone as they see fit. As a result, ones life and career can be ruined, yet no action can be taken against the police if you are just an ordinary person. This must be changed. The police are public servants, not our masters.

If the law is changed, as proposed by the Police Commissioner, then I am afraid we are heading towards a police state rather than the just society we are all trying to create.

NASRULLAH KHAN,

(former magistrate in Bury).