Use of birch

Press, 10 January 1981, Page 14

Use of birch

Sir, — I commend Mr Ben Couch, the Minister of Police, for his proposal to bring back the birch as a deterrent for violent offenders. It is not before time that some drastic action was taken to rid this , menace in bur society. What protection is there in our society against thugs? Where innocent people fall. victims to criminals of this calibre, surely it is obvious that Stringent measures must- be taken immediately to pay ■the full penalty. Corporal punishment is the only language these .violent criminals understand. If it is true that offenders deserving - of the birch • might retaliate once they have been released and take revenge by inflicting further violence, then there is no. alternative under our present administration of justice, other than to put these, wolves, of our society on to some distant uninhabited island. — Yours, etc., . ■ • •' >• ■

ALLEN FRAMPTON. January 7, 1981. " :

Sir, —' In all the. letters . from people, who’ oppose the \ use of the birch and hangings I have noticed that they feel sorry for the thugs and not one word is raised for the victuns of rapes and bashings. But then that is all we can expect in our present sick society. And' if people accuse me of being a sadist they should remember that the founder of Christianity drove the merchants and money-lenders from the temple and I bet .He did not only rely on the .potver of; His tongue. — Yours,. etc., KEITH BROWN? . . January 9, 1981; .. ■ ; Sir, — Mr Couch’s call for

the use of .the birch, followed by his assumption that public volunteers would offer their “services" after his previous naive assumption that police or prison officers would be willing to carry out the birching, plus extolling his ygood Samaritan” philosophy to South Africa and yet another banal assumption that anti-tour protesters will be responsible for all altercations during the rugby tour and therefore should foot the bill for the police surveillance indicate a rather "trigger (or mouth) happy” Minister of Police — surely an embarrassment to the police, if not to his mentor and the rest of the National Party. — Yours, etc., B. HALL. January 7, 1981.