Your editorial "Ditch the suicidal policies and revert to the NDP sanity" and the article "Shot in the foot again" (October 7 ) refer. Instead of taking a cynical attitude to the private security industry and trying merely to extract value from it, the government should embrace the industry as a valued partner in efforts to increase safety and security and to promote investment and job creation.Much has been written about how the "expropriation clause" of the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill, if enacted, would dry up investment and kill jobs, ultimately shrinking that sector.The government should rather use its power to make the private security industry a sector of expanding opportunities.The government has done nothing to advance two of the objectives in the Private Security Industry Regulation Act: to "promote a private security industry that is characterised by ... equity and accessibility" and to " promote the development of security services that are responsive to the needs of ...the community".This means promoting low-cost private security services that would be accessible to poorer households and communities. One way to realise this would be the provision of "security vouchers" to households and businesses in high-crime, low-income communities.This would have a positive impact on fighting crimes like mugging and house break-ins because visible patrolling along major pedestrian routes and rapid-response would reduce the opportunity for such crimes to be committed. There would also be entrepreneurial opportunities for people to offer small-scale security services, thus contributing to job creation.The government needs to change its outlook on the private security industry so as not to hinder it, but rather help it contribute to the National Development Plan. ..