The claim by the chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, Tom McGhie, that recruitment into the newly-formed North-East Regional Counter Terrorism Squad has diverted experienced detectives from day-to-day investigations into such serious crimes as assaults, woundings, non-stranger rapes and robberies, is clearly a cause for concern.

It is right that efforts should be concentrated on counter-terrorism and right too that the best officers should be used, given the sensitive issues involved and the potential massive loss of life should any terrorist attack succeed.

However, there is bound to be concern over the alleged gap in the region's policing caused, it is claimed, by a high proportion of recruits to the regional unit coming from the ranks of experienced detectives in West Yorkshire (80 per cent is the figure put on it by Mr McGhie). He claims that other crimes are taking longer to investigate, victims are not being kept updated as promptly as they should be, and force morale is suffering because of the increased workload.

If the gap exists - something that is denied by West Yorkshire Police - there would clearly be a pressing need to fill it. At the end of the day, policing is about much more than preventing terrorism - though no-one would dispute the importance of that, and the need to give it a high priority.

It is also about allowing ordinary, law-abiding people to feel that they are being properly protected from criminals as they go about their day-to-day lives.

And one of the best ways of protecting people is to deter would-be criminals by catching and punishing those who try to get away with it.