I AM amazed and baffled at the leniency at sentences that judges pass these days. Is it any wonder that our police are demoralised when they do their part in apprehending criminals to see them get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again?

People today, especially the older generation, wonder sometimes if these judges live in our world, where criminals find that old people are an easy target, with some being battered to death for a few pounds.

I long for a judge like the late Judge Laski on whom the people of Burnley could rely to send shivers down the spines of all offenders. But he was also a fair man and revered in this area.

In my youth we were taught to respect teachers, the police and, above all, our parents, but now that is all gone, on viewing the present youth of today.

F NEWSOME, Burnley Road, Padiham.