John Parry bemoans the lack of police while we are going to get new, six-feet tall, slim parking-ticket machines appearing eventually in every city street.

What an opportunity missed. These ticket machines should have been designed as dummy police or parking wardens.

Worldwide, dummy police have been used as effectively as plain-clothes police and unmarked police cars.

One nation even uses punch-bag politicians so people can get rid of their political anger.

-John Stanaway, Lorna Road, Hove