The debate about front line policing doesn't matter

Inspector Gadget brings a new dimension to this debate.

All this argument about whether budget cuts will affect the so-called police front line completely misses the point. Even if the front line was a million strong, with the piss-poor sentencing we currently have, it would make no difference.

And he gives an example. Today we can read of a drug dealer caught with a haul worth £50,000 who has been spared jail by Judge Stephen Holt.

Where is the democratic influence on the policy of inadequate sentencing - recognised as so even by some judges?