Sir, - In response to Carolyn Swift (letters, March 26th) perhaps she can explain why we have neither a decrease in drug related crime nor an uptake in jobs, despite economic circumstances being at an envied high? Would she, and the other detractors of Zero Tolerance who cry about "deprived" communities and of inequality and unemployment being the roots of crime, not consider that taking our bloated social welfare budget, halving it and spending the savings on crime prevention, might teach a few short, sharp lessons in a few well needed places? - Yours, etc,
Dun Laoghaire.
PS: I am not a Fianna Fail activist.