A DANGEROUS precedent would be set if law-abiding businesses and citizens were expected to pay extra for the police to sort out yobbish behaviour in public places, as suggested on this Letters Page by a former chief superintendent of Kidderminster Police.

The police are not a money-making organisation and, if they were allowed to charge for their services, there is a great danger of them attending those incidents that generate revenue.

In any case, who would decide whether the police should charge for a particular service?

Would we be asked for a credit card number when making a 999 call? Or would local businesses pay the police a bonus to deal with a gang of shoplifters?

Taxpayers pay for the police to uphold the law on their behalf abut, if the police have resource problems, then they must first of all learn to prioritise their tasks in an effective manner.

An example of the misuse of resources was reported recently in the national press, when Northumbria Police expended vast effort to prosecute a woman spotted driving with an apple in her hand.

Sadly, this is not an isolated occurrence. All too often we read of disproportionate effort being spent on soft targets, while the real problems are not dealt with.

Paying for policing in or around a football venue is one thing, but paying extra for sorting out the small number of people whose drink-fuelled behaviour is unacceptable, is completely different.

The police should deal with this as a matter of routine and the only people who should be made to pay are the louts themselves by means of stiff fines or custodial sentences.

D JONES

Granville Crest

Kidderminster