In the eighth paragraph of Alan Travis's report is the crucial fact of the whole debate about the relationship between police numbers and crime levels: "Home Office statisticians say the evidence for a clear link between crime figures and police officer numbers is contested." (Crime falls to lowest level since survey began in 1981, 19 July). For contested, read "no evidence for". As Travis reported earlier this year (Report, 31 January): "The criminologists have always argued that there is no simple direct link between police numbers and crime rates? there has been a sustained fall in crime in England and Wales of more than 40% since the mid-90s. It looks increasingly likely that it is going to take more than a cut in police numbers ? however deep ? to bring it to an immediate juddering halt." Ian Sinclair London

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