MICHAEL Howard's proposals to lock criminals up for longer will strike a chord with voters, as will his description of sentencing in the courts as a "charade".

It is what people want to hear: Put criminals behind bars and throw away the key.

But while we agree that sentences too often fail to match the most serious crimes, it is far too simplistic to suggest that building more prisons is the answer to all of society's ills.

Britain already has the largest prison population in Europe and it is a hugely expensive way of dealing with crime. As is so often the case with politicial promises, it remains unclear how a Tory government would pay for such a populist policy.

While Mr Howard points to statistics indicating that more than 3,500 crimes have been committed by criminals released early, criminologists counter the argument with figures showing that more than half of prisoners reoffend whenever they are released.

We are more encouraged by Tory plans to increase the number of drug rehabilitation centres from 2,000 to 20,000 because that, at least, is aiming at the grass root causes of crime.

It is about striving to change the course of a person's life so they can play a useful part in society, and we would like to see more measures aimed at rehabilitation.

Of course, prisons have to be a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. For the most serious crimes, sentences have to be more meaningful than they often are.

But crime prevention, victim support, and constructive alternatives to prison also have to be part of the package - whoever comes to power.