With reference to your report of Brighton police's bill for taxis to take home people released after arrest (The Argus, May 9), we should remember that within the British justice system a suspect is assumed innocent until proved guilty.

Just because someone is arrested does not mean they are a criminal.

In some cases, at least, it seems Sussex Police are still operating on this basis, which is why they provide taxis for vulnerable people.

When Simon Burgess says: "I have no doubt it will upset people to think taxpayers are paying for taxis for criminals," he completely misses the point.

The police are doing exactly the right thing in providing taxis for the vulnerable.

The alternative is leaving people stranded miles out of town, often in the middle of the night.

As an example, 81-year-old John Catt was arrested twice last year during EDO protests and taken to Hollingbury custody suite. On both occasions, once processed, he was offered the use of a taxi paid for by the police.

For them not to have done so would have been inhuman. Charges were dropped in both cases, as they were against numerous other people - I'd like to know how much that cost the taxpayer.

Like many people, he is not a criminal just because he was arrested. I do not find myself praising the police too often but, in this case, they are doing exactly what they should in fulfilling their duty of care.

Simon Burgess, on the other hand, is pandering to right-wing popularism, a New Labour trait which runs alongside its authoritarianism and tendency to treat us all as criminals.

I would be horrified if, as a result of this criticism, the police were to start leaving vulnerable people, innocent or guilty, stranded on the outskirts of Brighton in the early hours.

Now the police have new powers to arrest anyone for any reason, many more of us might want to hope we don't find ourselves in this position.

-Glenn Williams, Brighton