YOUR columnist Julian Cole turns his vitriol on the subject of 'bobbies on the beat' (October 9). This subject generated four separate items, on pages one, three and six.

The tone of your editorial comment and that of your columnist will have, no doubt, rattled a few 'police cages' but I feel it goes further than that.

Fear of crime, or a perceived level of crime, is not something to be sneered at. It has a tremendously debilitating effect on the more vulnerable members of our communities, particularly the elderly.

While the police act in their duty, much good work to combat crime and the fear of crime is carried out by countless volunteers, representing residents' forums, parish councils, neighbourhood watches and so forth. This requires goodwill and encouragement.

Your negative reporting/comment only serves to give succour to the would-be criminal and create disillusionment within those public bodies.

In your editorial's final paragraph, you express a lack of surprise in residents' increasing fear of crime, apparently due to increased crime prevention measures. This is a contradiction.

I suggest that, rather than this being the case, any increase in the fear of crime is more likely to be caused by often exaggerated and sensationalistic reporting in the media.

Ian Aconley,

Main Street, Sheriff Hutton, York.

Updated: 10:10 Monday, October 13, 2003