The ideas of Chief Superintendent John Carnochan to invest in more social workers, health workers and teachers to reduce violence among the young might seem new and radical to some readers and, indeed, to the good man himself. Yet, they are as old as social welfare itself. Not old in terms of the evolution of humankind but, in this modern world of knee-jerking politicos producing new laws every week to tackle crime, truly ancient.

These were the very ideas that formed the thinking underlying the Social Work (Scotland) Act, 1968. Care and social education would help change lives, help people choose to be good citizens not chib-toting gangsters. It was that thinking that created the children's hearing system where kids breaching the law would be provided with support and supervision rather than brutal borstals, reform schools or jails - academies of crime every one. It was that thinking that said no child would ever come into care if being helped financially or in kind would solve the crucial problem for their family: no child should ever be punished for symptoms of poverty.

It was that thinking that was applauded worldwide and copied in states we now view as the most forward-thinking, the most successful in dealing with social problems. The same states with the safest streets.

It was that same thinking that for the past three decades has been raped, ravaged and starved financially. Held up to ridicule every time something has gone wrong but never with any mention of things going right even if that was most of the time. Slowly and gradually anglified to systems that weren't working down south, dulling its radical edge, effectively killing hope for a better future for so many children.

Who committed these acts of statutory and fiscal violence? Politicians in power. Politicians of all colours at local level, Edinburgh and Westminster who couldn't wait for that master plan to come to fruition. A plan even the most radical of policy thinkers admitted would take a generation or two to bring about positive change. It was allowed one unimpeded decade at most. Shame on those politicians more concerned by gaining the popular vote than for our kids born to fail. Hats off to John Carnochan. The right answer is the right answer no matter who says it or when. Or how old it is. - Reg McKay, Crime Writer, Glasgow.

May I congratulate Chief Superintendent John Carnochan on his excellent forward thinking? Punishing violent behaviour is certainly acceptable, but what is much more important is trying to stop it from happening in the first place. His idea of using health visitors to effect this has much to commend it.

When I was working in public health, health visitors were deployed to "trouble" areas as well as problem households. They soon, through regular visits, became friends of the family and, as such, exercised considerable influence, both medical and social. Although primarily employed to promote a healthy lifestyle, they affected the community attitudes of the family to a remarkable degree. Their visits emphasised moderate behaviour which was also a feature of their work in the past.

Let us hope that Chief Superintendent Carnochan's radical thinking bears fruit. - Dr William O Thomson, 7 Silverwells Court, Bothwell.