Isn't it amazing that the biggest problems in life invariably have the simplest solutions? The quality of life for many people is dramatically reduced by the anti-social behaviour of others. Here are solutions for a few of the problems:

Bad behaviour in young children. After repeated ignored warnings, a short sharp slap across the legs works wonders.

Bad behaviour in older school children. Reintroduce the strap in schools. It never did me any harm and it certainly kept me on the straight and narrow.

Yobbish behaviour. Reintroduce the stocks. A Saturday spent being ridiculed should change their attitude. This may upset the do-gooders but, let's face it, they have caused most of these problems and as for civil liberties - forget them for yobs, they don't deserve them.

First-degree murder, ie the murder of police officers, etc. Bring back the death penalty.

Second degree murder. A life sentence to mean life. No appeal.

Attacks on law-abiding citizens. Sentences of five to ten years doing hard labour 12 hours a day and being paid the minimum wage - part of it forfeited to pay for their keep, the rest to be paid to their victim. This should stop old people from being savagely attacked.

Drug suppliers and pushers. Death penalty. Once the supply ceases, drug-related offences would cease.

Drug users. Give them the cold-turkey treatment, remember Frank Sinatra in The Man With The Golden Arm? After this, you won't find many re-offenders.

Drunks. Should be taken to a special unit, have their stomachs pumped and fined several hundred pounds. This will pay for the running of the unit.

Burglars. Give a warning the first time then, every subsequent offence, cut off one of their fingers.

Trespassers. Reintroduce and rigidly enforce the law of trespass. If offenders refuse to leave, the land or property owner can use any amount of force, assisted by the police and, if necessary, the Army, to remove them.

Speeding. Remove all warning signs for speed cameras. Paint all cameras to blend in with their surroundings and change their position constantly. After all, every driver knows the speed limit and if they choose to ignore it, hammer them.

After three convictions, their car is confiscated, sold and the money used to pay for more cameras. This will dramatically cut the number of road deaths caused by speeding drivers.

Roads. Stop spending vast amounts of money on dangerous roads. There is no such thing as a dangerous road, only dangerous drivers.

I guarantee after a year or two of the above, this city will be a better place to live. Our police will have less repeated crimes and will be able to patrol our streets once again, making us all feel safer.

It will be interesting to see the views of other Argus readers.

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