MANY of us will have a good idea of exactly how we would like to deal with louts who smashed up bus stops and make us nervous as we pass them in the park.

And now we are being given half a chance, with the Police and Crime Commissioner asking for thoughts on a list of punishments for anti-social behaviour louts and low-level offenders dealt with out of court. More importantly, victims will get to choose from the list to decide how they would like their offenders to be dealt with.

Allowing victims to choose their tormentors’ punishment can only go so far. It would surely lead to all kinds of chaos for more serious crimes dealt with in the courts.

And the inclusion on the list of remedies such as counselling and “educational assignments” will inevitably raise cries of “soft justice.”

But for the people whose day-to-day lives are affected by these sorts of offences, the more they can be heard the better.