THREE strikes and you're out - a term appropriate to soft ball rounders.

But the Government and judiciary are about to use it against wrongdoers who, if they appear before the court three times, will serve a sentence.

People making laws along these lines should get real. Ask the thousands of victims of crime whose houses have been burgled - some wrecked - by these yobs, or who are old people beaten, or conned, out of their life savings.

The lawyers use old chestnuts such as the defendant was drunk, comes from a poor background, was under the influence of drugs, was under stress and so on. Get out the violin; play 'Hearts and Flowers' - these people devastate and violate the lives of innocent, hard-working members of the public.

It should not be a question of how many times an offender has been before the court, but how many offences has he already committed before being apprehended.

I often wonder if a custodial term is the best bet. What about putting them to work for society, under supervision and making them compensate their victims if possible.

Football hooligans should be made to report at frequent intervals to the police, especially at match times and passports confiscated until a sentence is served.

K SOWERBUTTS (Mr), Southwood Drive, Baxenden.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.