I WISH to comment on the failure of Camborne police in my area. I've noticed that shop windows, phone boxes and cars are smashed every few nights. No one is ever caught. The same vandals attack cars in the local area. They've even broken mine.

MP Julia Goldsworthy believes that more police is the solution. This shows a lack of experience, though I like her ideas. Clearly more police might help but it is only a part of the problem in Camborne. The main problem is poor police tactics. Consider the following scenario. A police car with flashing lights arrives to try to arrest some vandals. They spot him instantly and cycle away, probably through narrow backlanes, where the car cannot follow. The police have simply moved the problem into the housing areas in Camborne! No wonder my car's side windows have been smashed and the telephone box is regularly busted. Does the criminal wear a uniform and drive a marked car? No. Then why do our police? No one is reassured by a marked car! It serves no purpose other than to alert the criminal to danger.

Think about the psychological aspect of unmarked cars carrying policemen on a vandal's mind. No car can be deemed as a member of the public. Every driver could be a policeman!

Sgt Dave Aynsley is quoted as saying he wants Camborne people to tell him who is doing this vandalism. What?! This is typical of the "welfare" police this nation suffers from. Pathetic! You've got to build your intelligence networks by creating a system of informants. No-one is going to tell you anything unless you've got something on them. Then you build up a dossier of intelligence on the area, who's who, and what's what! Waiting for the public to tell you is like waiting for hell to freeze over. Why do we pay our police between £19,000 and £34,000 pa according to rank and service if they expect us to form neighbourhood watch schemes and put more funding into crime prevention? Let's fire them all and hire private police. I'm sure they'll be cheaper and do a better job! There's also a large black market trade in alcohol and cigarette in Camborne. This needs to be tackled.

Camborne reader (name and address supplied)