J Colman clarifies why bureaucratic gobbledygook is used (LT, March 24).

A typical example is the defence the Minister of Justice makes to the criticism of letting criminals get away with just a caution after committing serious crimes: “I have no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the out-of-court disposal for rape, but each decision is taken independently and I would be astonished if the circumstances surrounding this case weren’t extremely unusual.”

In short: “We can’t handle crime.”

A SEDGWICK, Lyndhurst Avenue, Blackburn.