It may have come as a shock to some that Peter Bowers should express a kind of view we don't expect a judge to hold (Inquiry into judge's 'brave burglars' comment in court, 7 September). It is, is it not, a responsibility of those with both influence and a conscience to occasionally use it and poke the political establishment. My son is currently serving a prison sentence for burglary. When he broke into houses he didn't feel brave, he felt frightened. His fear was overridden by a physical and psychological craving for heroin. Few people other than addicts and recovering addicts fully comprehend the power of class A drugs. The ongoing tragedy is that those who burgle and those who are burgled are both victims of a society that refuses to address realities. The real villains are the crowd-pleasing politicians who never show courage and avoid tackling the issues because the outcomes may offend the Daily Mail. Name and address supplied

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