Is it an insurmountable disaster that newly joined police constables are quitting the force so promptly but also, more worryingly perhaps, so readily. We need a cosmopolitan (let alone a much more competent!) police force that reflects our cosmopolitan society in which we reside. It seems that the "old boy" network is still predominantly intact, but this in no sense or form reflects societies views on what a policing system should constitute. I genuinely welcome a program of reform to be inaugurated, but should we not discover what specific aspects are in need of change? The "general" reforms that it appears Cameron proposes could lead to yet greater incompetency, ineffectiveness and corruption in the service and, at the end of the day, we could be left with a draconian system that equates to the 19th Century Bow-street runners and nightwatchmen. Marcin Roth, London
As a serving police officer who has no particular reason to love the current government, or any previous one for that matter, this is nothing less than blatant vote pandering. Chief constables already have the ability to sack underperforming officers - the reason the process takes a relatively long time is it gives people the chance and the training and supervision to improve themselves. Most officers who start down the underperformance path turn themselves around, so those who take a long time to get rid of are the true minority who really don't want to change. It costs about £40,000 to get a probationer through their first eight months training, better they be given a good time to improve and become competent than waste £40,000 the moment they start to underperform. If the price of that is the occasional layabout who takes nine months to get rid of, then so be it. Mr Cameron should research his facts and police procedures before deciding to become an expert on the subject. Nicholas Hogarth, Tamworth
I say it is. Women, gays and minority groups are finding discrimination within the police force. An old boys network prevails and needs eliminating for others to at least stand a chance. If Cameron wants to seriously reform the police force then he needs to shake it from the top to bottom. Tinkering, what the current government is doing, is just playing lip service to the aggrieved and the public for the sake of a quiet life. Glenn Renshaw, Newbury
It's not about reform. It's about on form and off form performance. At present the police force in every area is a dysfunctional, corrupt, politically conformist institutional dictatorship. Democratisation is the answer. The police force needs to have elected local and regional leaders, with manifestos that express the wishes of the democratic majority and not - as at present - the liberalist minority (including "Liberal Boy" Cameron). Terry Daly, London
The essence of policing within the UK from its earliest beginnings, has been a separation from government and political control. The fear of a political police goes back to the very origins of the Metropolitan Police. That concern should be even more relevant today when one considers the information society, CCTV, ID cards, terror legislation, etc. Far from being an instrument of government, the police should be standing apart - accountable to local communities through the independence of chief constables, the police authorities and the tri-partite arrangement, all answerable to law. The current Labour government has done more to undermine that relationship than any previous government. It now appears that the Conservatives are looking to complete the job. An evolutionary process to policing development, yes - a revolutionary take-over of police by government, definitely not. Do not be hoodwinked by talk of efficiency and effectiveness. John Mottram, Tallinn, Estonia
In my own personal experience, chief constables are either not even aware of criminality among their officers, they "shield" themselves (into "not knowing") or they know but don't give a damn. Criminal police officers are protected from exposure. All the methods, bodies, rules and the like in place to ensure that this doesn't happen are all either ineffective or "worked around". Reform? Replace and renew would be more like it. Paul Coughlin, Narbonne, France
It would be more sensible to advocate a wide ranging enquiry to determine where changes should be made in the police rather than an off the cuff start with a preconceived idea of reform. As a retired senior officer of 40 years service, I am quite sure that changes are needed in more areas than lazy officers. What about political correctness or powers to act on initiative or escape from the myriad of rules and regulations that inhibit an officer from exercising his or her duty? At one time the police had power to stop and search - not any more, or at least not with the freedom to act without recrimination. No wonder some officers do not see it as "worth the biscuit" to enquire if someone is acting lawfully when at most they will be engulfed in bureaucracy or find themselves arresting someone who will swiftly be released without charge. To engender loyalty among officers the Government must give loyalty to those it asks to act in circumstances which would frighten most people away. Threats to interfere with pension rights or to dismiss arbitrarily will not endear any political party to the police. I can recall the days when the authority of the police officer was paramount and was held by general acclaim to be so. It was not in some gratuitous way that his word was law but in the acceptance that the officer was the representative of the people. We must move away from the concept of "the police and the criminal" and begin believing that the struggle is between "society and the criminal" and the police are merely those who take on the role of crime prevention and detection on behalf of the people. Bernard James Luckhurst, Pinner
I agree that something must be done to make the Police Service dispose of the so called "uniform wearers". However, I fear that the end result will be one of promotion out of trouble for some, and thus progression, while those who have faces that do not fit, but are good officers, are subject to fabricated departures. I have seen both scenarios during 26 plus years of policing. I found it sad, disappointing and unforgivable. M Smith, Buckpool
The police must be given as much support as they need,for they stand between us an complete anarchy. There are not many professions were its professionals stand the risk of laying their own lives down in the interests of others. Bernard Parke, Guildford
Totally agree with Derek Sinclair [see below]. Cameron cannot possibly hope to reform a demoralised police force until all the regulations and paperwork have been removed. Name and address withheld
The last eight years of New Labour have been nothing but expensive and ineffective "social" reform of public services, leaving the basic functional problems unresolved but with a new strata of outreach counsellors, etc. Cameron had my vote two months ago (I'm 34 and no hardline Home Counties blue-rinser), but he's blown it with me for good. Start acting like the leader of a pragmatic, progressive Conservative party, not a pseudo-liberal wet. If I wanted Blair, I'd vote for him. Jonathan Jones, London
Haven't we heard all this before? The legislation was introduced a decade ago. Perhaps it would be effective if lazy senior officers who are only interested in publicity, etc. were dispensed with. Here in Corfu, where police actually patrol the streets, crime is almost unheard of. It almost feels as if you are insulting the Greeks by persistently locking your car door (except when British tourists are about!). The crime rate for the whole of Greece is about half that in Nottingham. Brian Vallance, Lefkimmi, Greece
Cameron sounds more like Blair with every new utterance that comes out of his mouth. Most people would agree that some reform is necessary but the real problem with the police is not internal it is external. A service that has been completely compromised by political correctness, fear to act through the ridiculous acceptance of the classic 'institutionally racist' tag, crippling gender and ethnic targets, a judicial system of sentencing that is so woeful as to discourage the police bothering to arrest anyone and a mountain of EU human rights driven paperwork. Like so much of what is wrong with the UK, the police can only begin to recover by re-adopting a realistic view of world around us and getting the hell out of the EU ASAP. Derek Sinclair, Dundee
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