HAVING read the article on the begging teams coming to Oxford (Oxford Mail, August 6) and their skill in avoiding cameras, I would like to make a suggestion.

In the past I have been a bit critical of Thames Valley Police – and I know it is easier to criticise than to do police work.

But surely it is not rocket science to designate an officer to be at the railway station and bus station to check transport coming into the city – and then maintain covert surveillance until they transgress the law and then deal with them by way of prosecution.

Cameras, as yet, cannot arrest people.

I do accept also that the Crown Prosecution Service will require a ridiculous number of witnesses before they will proceed with a case, but it is time the CPS was brought to task over its financially-governed decisions on prosecution.

In fact, if money is tight, let’s do away with them altogether, as, in my humble opinion, they cause a loss of morale and are the root of a great deal of bad publicity for the police.

By getting rid of them and reverting to a system of contracting local solicitors to carry out prosecution work, the whole legal system would benefit, both for prosecution and defence advocates.

My message to the police is: stop watching cameras, and get out there among the public. You can watch all the TV you want when you retire.

CHRIS PAYNE, Turnpike Road, Bicester