Compounding our crime folly

Your editorial “Sentencing policy — ‘Life’ should mean life for Dundon” (Aug 14) was stark and to the point and the more surprising for that as it clearly missed the real issues involved.

If ensuring that making a life sentence mean “life” was the answer to the level of violence and criminality in our society how lucky we would be — but it is much deeper than that, and what is more, it would be astonishing if editors of national newspapers did not know that.

A portrait of the average “thug” is a male between 18 and 29, functionally illiterate with no work-related skills and virtually no work experience. He would come from one of our ill-planned crowded housing estates; have no assets, with little access to the means to self-improve.