National party leader Chris Luxon should stick to his guns in locking up young offenders. Every year they are locked away not only is justice to the victim but it also secures the public from further crime and provides an important lesson for the offender's compatriots. Such offenders are already associating with criminals, so prison time makes little difference.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's reaction to the killing of a shopkeeper in her electorate – spend more taxpayer money on fog cannons, etc, not only revealed that most of the funds allocated in the past have not been spent because of harsh criteria, but also reveals that Labour is again soft on crime in not addressing the offender.

Likewise all the politicians and experts that rail against locking up, etc, are only concerned with the offender. They miss the point.

However Luxon has made one significant error in following Ardern's one with MIQ. NZers don't join the military to become jailers. Okay temporarily, say one month, but the job for both MIQ and youth crime is Corrections.

Interesting too is the Police Commissioner then announcing that he needs to provide 'more clarity for officers” in the fleeing driver policy. Why? Because the policy introduced in 2020 resulted in more drive offs. ie being soft on crime only encourages more crime.

Bill Capamagian, Tauranga City.