"COP That" (Your Letters, July 6) is writing again and I notice that his arguments still do not stand up to scrutiny.

Yes the police have abandoned the community "Dixon of Dock Green" approach but that is only because people have changed. They travel miles to work these days, drive hundreds of miles in their cars, shop in supermarkets on the edge of town, move house frequently and often never get to know their neighbours. How would Dixon have coped with all that on his pedal cycle?

Yes, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) was a good thing and miscarriages of justice are rarer these days. But the incident "Cop That" highlights, the resignation of the chief constable of Sussex, Paul Whitehouse, was an unfortunate one. His resignation was due to political pressure and I am certain we will see a legal challenge to Mr Blunkett's initiative.

Yes, "zero tolerance" is great, but in New York this was achieved by a huge police recruitment and almost doubling the number of officers on the street. Great idea - write to your MP.

Yes, the police are getting the thugs to court. But just like pulling weeds out of your garden, a week or two later new ones appear! Unfortunately the Bury Times can not print details of all the offenders that appear before the courts. If it did, it might help to silence "Cop That". Now there's a thing!

WILLIAM

DERBYSHIRE,

Northbridge, Perth,

Western Australia.