We all know babies are not born with criminal instincts at their first breath. Infants are cherished in most cases because of the innocence factor and the unknown potential to grow into a solid citizen capable of making a contribution to community life. That is the hope during the excitement of welcoming a new soul into the world.

What happens to that young mind along the way will largely depend on exposure to either warmth, affection and love, or negative conditions and moods that hold the potential to plant seeds of hostility and resentment, which eventually could create a mindset that, like a young twisted tree, is not easily corrected when fully developed.

Families around the world have struggled for centuries to maintain an atmosphere in the home that would be a learning centre for facing the many challenges of life.

They do this in a manner that is hoped will pave the way for others yet to come. However, in life, seldom do things work out as planned and that, too, is a part of the learning process in trying to instil strong values for positive living.

Many youngsters drift off course during the crucial early years; sometimes even when parents or guardians feel they are doing everything right in providing essentials and proper guidance.

The mind, of course, is complex and while some young people can remain focused, despite being in an atmosphere of negativity, others feel rejected and quite often become vulnerable to negative elements that seek to operate outside of civil law and order.

Nothing new in that scenario, although in a world exploding with a tsunami of electronic cyberspace material, both good and bad, one could easily fall victim to destructive signals without sound judgment. And in some cases, there is no turning back. In many parts of the world, including the United States and other leading nations, the problem of violent gangs and their criminal mindset, is a threat to community life.

In Chicago, as well as other major American cities, gang warfare has claimed the lives of many innocent victims, including children. When gangs clash, whether it is over illegal drugs or turf disputes, little thought is given to innocent bystanders. Despite programmes aimed at trying to reduce such activity, the death toll continues to rise. A police chief during a conference on gang violence said that with some hardened criminals, rehabilitation was out of the question. Of course, that viewpoint may be debatable. Sadly, in some countries, gang warfare is almost out of control.

Here in Bermuda, concern continues over periodic shootings believed to be gang-related and, despite efforts by police and various community groups to defuse tensions between rival groups, these incidents persist. Changing a criminal mindset is truly an inside job, with family involvement that will require more than mere words of condemnation.

The situation is not hopeless, even though trying to turn around a criminal mind, remains a big obstacle for our entire community.

Bermuda has much to look forward to, but we must continue to emphasise the importance of good values, starting in the home. It is not a question of a perfect society, but if there is a unified approach to improving attitudes — even for those who find themselves on the wrong side of the law — a door will open to help to redirect a life that otherwise would be wasted.

The road ahead is going to be rough and there will be testing moments for the police and our communities in trying to reverse a trend that, unchecked, creates danger for all.

Making our island safe is the business of every Bermudian and success will come only with determination from all of our resources to save young minds before it is too late.

With a mindset change, Bermuda can grow stronger — enough so that future generations would be able to find information about gang activity and gunplay in Bermuda only through scouring Royal Gazette archives. A distant dream? That will depend on what is done about the problem today.