I AM the first to criticise the police when they fall down on the job, but also the first to give them support when they need it. I find it impossible to believe that the courts, in the form of the magistrates, are not giving the police any support at all.

A clear case for the imposition of a criminal anti-social behaviour order was made against a known serial shoplifter and the magistrate chooses not to accede to the police request ("They still won't ban him", February 26). Like many others, I am appalled at the attitude of the magistrates.

Is it not about time the magistrates did a little forward thinking and actually realised this is 2004 and modern criminals need modern justice? And the public need to be satisfied that justice is being done on their behalf, not this mollycoddling of the anti-social misfits that seems to be the norm.

Phill Thomas,

Brecksfields,

Skelton,

York.

...ARE our magistrates and our Chief Constable of North Yorkshire police smoking something?

Firstly, magistrates say a man caught with his sticky fingers wrapped around goods he hasn't paid for on 21 occasions doesn't cause distress, alarm and harassment. That's about two a week, and he still smugly walks out of court.

I for one am alarmed and totally distressed that Elizabeth Hjort and her colleagues are letting down every decent member of this city down with their pitiful sentencing for yet another low life plaguing our shops and streets.

Not only are they letting us down, they are letting down every serving police officer, be it paid or specials, who quite clearly will be having diminishing incentive to join the service to help rid our towns and cities of these scum.

Chief Constable Della Cannings, your own figures show that the force is losing special constables twice as fast as you can recruit them. I wonder why?

R Lund,

The Wandle,

Acomb,

York.

Updated: 10:14 Monday, March 01, 2004