SIR - Robin Walker (Worcester News, September 11) would do better if he lived in Worcester, as I do, before he reaches for his next press release attacking local police for the work they do here in our city.
London, where he lives, is a long way off and this explains why he has no idea about how good our local police are at tackling crime. He questions my actions. Well, let me tell him I'm proud to have voted for extra cash allocations that mean West Mercia Police have record numbers of officers, and I remain convinced that the new community support officers introduced by the Labour Government give a very real and visible police presence on the streets. It's a pity his party opposed the extra cash, and referred to CSOs as "walking scarecrows".
I am under no illusions about the difficulties in tackling anti-social behaviour and low-level crimes that cause so much distress to local people. That is why I support the anti social behaviour orders as a means of clamping down on offenders - his party call such orders a "gimmick".
Crime levels in Worcester have been falling consistently, thanks to the extra investment and additional tools given to the police to do their job. More can and will be done with local neighbourhood policing teams setting up right across the city.
Of course, not being local means Mr Walker simply doesn't know what's going on in Worcester.
MICHAEL FOSTER, MP for Worcester.
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