The Grimsby Telegraph has launched a massive survey inviting its readers to tell the Government what they think about law and order.

Five years ago, the newspaper conducted a poll among its readers on crime and its effects. Hundreds of readers responded and all of them said they thought the Conservative government of the day was too soft on criminals.

Now the newspaper is repeating the exercise.

A questionnaire has appeared in the paper. Readers are asked to fill it in and send it to the newsdesk by June 9. Replies will be treated in confidence, but a letter giving the overall results of the survey will be forwarded to Home Secretary, Jack Straw, and the Leader of the Opposition, William Hague, and they will be asked to respond.

The survey was launched, under the headline: “Crime: Just Listen Jack!”, with an open letter to readers from editor Peter Moore.

In it he said: “One issue brings more letters from Grimsby Telegraph readers than any other: Law and order.

“From young and old, the messages continue to arrive daily. They tell of people afraid to go out for fear of being attacked on the streets of North East Lincolnshire. They describe the heartbreak of finding that your home has been entered and treasured, and often irreplacable, possessions stolen. They tell of acts of violence and of teenagers running wild and terrorising ordinary, decent citizens.

“Above all, they reflect the growing concern and unease about the spiralling tide of crime and what our political leaders intend to do about it.”

He told readers that the Telegraph’s survey was a chance for them to have a say on how they feel about crime and punishment and urged them to spend a few minutes filling in the questionnaire, printed on page two.

“We believe that only by letting those who hold, or aspire to hold, power know what the people directly affected by the issue are thinking can proper decisions be taken,” concluded Mr Moore.

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