It seems a little contradictory for The Argus to back Tory calls for "the Government to either create more space for prisoners or cut crime" (The Argus , May 5), in the same week that police reported a 15% drop in crime across Brighton and Hove.

Nick Herbert's populist "lock 'em all up" call will no doubt resonate at a superficial level with anyone who has been a victim of crime, as I have. However, Britain's jails are already full with those caught and convicted. While many criminals, particularly those guilty of violent offences, belong in prison for the safety of the public, others will only fall further into a criminal way of life by spending time behind bars.

Far from being a "soft option", community punishments bring home to offenders the consequences of their actions, while at the same time giving something back to the communities and individuals they have harmed. I am sure many people would support offenders doing unpaid work that benefits their communities rather than seeing them shut away at enormous expense to the taxpayer, only for them to reoffend on release.

If being given a community punishment leads offenders away from crime and puts them back into employment and contributing to society, then I would support that rather than sending repeat offenders back to prison time and time again. The evidence from falling crime figures is that the Government's approach is working.