Your report on the government's intention to consult on proposals to criminalise squatting in England and Wales focused largely on the views of housing charities (Making squatting criminal will hit homeless, charities warn, 25 June). Such a move risks "dragging some of the country's most vulnerable people through the justice system". Katharine Sacks-Jones of the charity Crisis said many are squatting "because they simply don't have another choice".

As a high court enforcement officer, I have many years of first-hand experience in dealing with squatters, protesters and other forms of trespasser. I do not support the act of trespass in any form – but neither do I support the criminalisation of squatting.

I agree with Sacks-Jones that criminal punishments handed out against squatters would be "counterproductive" and are "not going to address the underlying problems that these people face"; they would be no deterrent to hardcore squatters and activists, while simultaneously imposing greater burdens on the truly vulnerable.

Furthermore, the actions necessary to remove the squatters would take up an inordinate amount of ever-diminishing police resources and impose further demands on a criminal courts system already stretched to breaking point – particularly if, as reported in the article, "the government's estimate of 20,000 squatters in the UK is likely to be a significant underestimate". The police are currently neither trained nor equipped to deal with many of the situations they will face when evicting highly organised squatters.

The fact that criminalisation puts squatters' liberty at risk could make them eligible for criminal legal aid (after being stripped of their right to civil legal aid under the government's recent announcement). This confusion would place further burdens on the shrinking legal aid budget.

The article rightly states that many of the actions used by the government to justify changing their approach are already criminal acts under existing legislation. Instead of criminalising squatting, civil court processes for obtaining and enforcing eviction orders should be made far simpler and quicker: property owners who have had their premises squatted in will know how many weeks it can take to get the necessary orders through the courts, and then waiting for those orders to be enforced.

The public would be better served by having a process that enables the necessary orders to be obtained and swiftly passed on to high court enforcement officers, thereby ensuring that the squatters are evicted lawfully and effectively by people skilled in dealing with such situations. These officers already have considerable powers and the police are under a legal duty to assist them so that any possible public order issues could be dealt with.

Yes, it is time to get tough on squatters. But making it illegal is not the answer, and will just make things worse. Thinking smarter can sometimes have a far more beneficial effect than just thinking tougher.