VIEWING real-life episodes of police chasing car thieves on the television always leaves me with the impression that generally, the types of miscreants involved in these crimes, treat the whole exploit as some sort of ‘gung-ho’ venture.

Drug fuelled or drunken yobs, including the sub-culture fraternity, have little or no regard for people’s property or safety, when racing at high speeds in populated areas to escape police capture.

These stolen vehicles are equivalent to a loaded gun, used in this fashion and should therefore attract much harsher penalties as punishment.

As a pointer, anyone having an illegal lethal weapon in his possession without a licence is subject to a five-year prison sentence, no excuses, no good citizenship soft options or leniency, the law is the law, and that includes hobbyist war souvenirs.

Therefore judicial penalties should automatically be immediate car confiscation, driving licence cancelled and jail sentence. Perhaps the thought of such a deterrent may focus the mind of any would be tearaways.

It has to be a foregone conclusion that eventually there will be a horrific mishap involving carnage, all through these mindless people and only then, wise after the event, the laws will change.

JW Bearby, Hartlepool