THE Gazette & Herald headline "Inflation-busting tax rises are on the way" was bad enough, but then it was followed by an avalanche of political verbiage and some dubious mathematical percentages. Which brought to mind that old addage "there are lies, damned lies and statistics".

The one figure that stands out is the police authority increase in cost over the last five years of 229.77pc. It takes one's breath away. Even worse is the chief constable's pronouncement: "any less and we would suffer" - well I have got news for the chief constable, we are already suffering and quite simply: enough is enough. Heads should roll, but they won't, this time next year it will be the same again, or so they hope. Policing by consent has been the principle ever since Robert Peel, which means that we allow the police to enforce the law with our consent, not the other way around.

I do not know who writes the police authority's media information packs. The proposal that the public should pay for phone calls when contacting the police is a daft idea and the timing stinks. It confirms my worst fear that Jo Moore is now employed by the North Yorks police authority, safely cocooned at County Hall and indexed-linked up to her armpits.

What is needed is a little sanity, to that end I am going to re-read Alice in Wonderland!

Updated: 10:29 Wednesday, February 25, 2004