IN his letter (August 19), J. Holden suggested that I was less than generous to Greater Manchester Police in their attempts at combating crime.

J. Holden's observation came the day after the chief constable, Michael Todd, confirmed the view that some of GMP's officers are "simply lazy" and inefficient, adding: "Some officers spend far too much time in meetings or sat in front of computer terminals, instead of being out on the streets catching criminals".

With Mr Todd now in charge there may be a glimmer of hope for the law-abiding taxpayer. He deserves full public support in his attempts at re-acquainting some of his staff with their duties.

The crime rates in Greater Manchester are currently appalling. In fact, overall crime statistics across the country don't look much better. By whichever method the Government tells the police to record criminal activity, the truth is there's not much good news to write home about.

The familiar scourge of house-breaking, drug offences, gun gangs, violent attacks and yobbish behaviour that blights the lives of communities of all social backgrounds, will surprise no one with a home in Bury. Painful experience of crime is commonplace. There will be few who have not been affected or who are not close to someone affected by the criminal culture. I understand that even the chief constable's Manchester home was burgled shortly after he moved from London to take up his new post.

A recent report concluded that if you live in Greater Manchester, you are more likely to be burgled than anyone else in England. And, furthermore, the detection rate is very poor. One local senior police officer told an area board meeting that it is because we tend to leave our doors and windows open, or have cheap padlocks on garden sheds!

If his is typical of the quality of thinking in crime prevention, we are in an awful lot of trouble and on course for no great improvement.

As usual, the Government is not much help either. It suffers from "initiativitis". Every day a new initiative, every week a new crime-fighting silo. If it's Thursday it must be burglary; Monday we'll switch to drugs. Those who study statistics in plush Whitehall office suites should get out and visit this neck of the woods. Go to those who have to live daily with the misery of crime and ask them if all your "initiatives" are working!

Disenchanted youths with dysfunctional parents are coerced and recruited into drug abuse and trading. They burgle and steal to feed habits. Too quickly they accept violence and wilful damage as part of their lifestyle. They are organised to keep the spiral turning and, if caught, are sent away by the courts to do it all over again.

Tony Blair once famously determined to get tough on crime and the causes of crime. All that has been dished up so far are invented headline-grabbing initiatives, grandiose legislation, and opaque words. I say get the police out on the streets, fortified with "zero tolerance", have the courts support the victim not the offender, and introduce "get-real" tough sentencing. These will be the first steps to fighting crime.

JEAN ALLISON (Mrs)

Ramsbottom.