SIR – I have been an avid reader of the T&A for more years than I care to remember, but just lately more and more headlines are coming up on the same theme.

Last Friday, we saw murder charge parents get bail, and on Saturday we saw an abuser spared jail.

Not often a week passes without headlines saying someone has been let off for this, or given another chance for that.

This must go down well with criminals, as they will just think, ‘well, if I do get caught I could get away anyway’.

Also, what kind of message is this sending out to young people who are finding it hard to get work and so forth.

I know prisons are full, but I just think that letting criminals off should not happen.

The police are doing their best to keep crime down, but they like many others must feel very frustrated when they see this kind of thing happening.

George Watmough, Carr Lane, Shipley