The Editor, Sir:

There are two issues arising from the election and the campaigning that must have struck all of us who follow these events.

A proposal to increase the police force by 4,000 members as part of the plan to fight crime.

I submit that this would aggravate the problem. Certainly, one would want to improve the capability of the police to apprehend and convict those who are engaged in criminal activities.

It must be better to improve the training of the current members of the force and provide access to the most modern crime-fighting techniques and technology.

A more effective approach, albeit long-term, is to address the conditions that make it conducive for young human beings to turn to crime as a bette> It has always been said that garrisons have never had a bearing on the outcome of elections, as if this were sufficient reason to tolerate their existence.

Well, certainly, this election ought to have sounded a clear bell (pun intended) of warning, as well as Election 2002, that this matter must be addressed as a matter of priority.

I am, etc.,

A.F.B. O'NEILL

189 Mountain View Avenue

Kingston 6