The police have been accused of targeting easy to solve, low-level crimes in an effort to improve their detection rates and hit targets.
Monday's Panorama on BBC1 has found that half of all criminal cases brought to justice in England and Wales are now dealt with out of court. Is this justice on the cheap; or does it reduce the time spent dealing with minor offences so that police are free to tackle more serious crime?
At the same time, while detection rates for violent attacks in England and Wales are falling and convictions for rape stand at just 6%; more over 40s are receiving their first criminal conviction and motoring offences made up half the cases dealt with by the courts.
One minute the police are criticised for not treating seriously enough the complaints of harassment that contributed to Fiona Pilkington killing herself and her disabled daughter - the next they're criticised for criminalising children for petty vandalism.
What do we want our police force to concentrate on? Do you feel well served by your local police force?
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As Alistair Darling prepares his budget, we want to hear how you'd distribute 500 billion pounds of government money if you were in charge.
