Gang violence is a huge and rapidly developing consequence to a reckless sub-culture. Despite the spike in violent, expressive crimes, (young Bermudians shooting young Bermudians), the government has yet to formalise a strategy to effectively manage gang violence. What we hear, in reaction to the gun-shots du jour, is the tired "We won't take this any more" rhetoric. Our government needs to appreciate that managing gang violence requires the simultaneous application of both a democratic and an operational response – two distinct but critical components in managing the risks posed by gangs in Bermuda.

The "Operational" response involves policing, intelligence communities, Customs etc. The law enforcement community has been relatively successful with "emergency response" and suspected offenders are swiftly apprehended, making colorful front-page imagery the very next day. "Flooding" the area (hot spots) with cops quickly guarantees security. However, problems arise when the Police withdraw, thereby leaving a vacuum for the remaining gangs to fill. This is precisely what is happening in Bermuda and is why gang violence is growing sustainable. The volley of gunplay will continue if all we are doing is reacting, regardless of how robust, efficient and professional the police reaction is – and it has been those things.

The "democratic" response to gang violence focuses on educating and developing trust-based relationships with community leaders and "the citizen". The goal is getting public "buy-in" to the proposed strategies for dealing with gangs in Bermuda. In addition, this response relies on making an effective legal framework to deal with gang activity, democracy promotion and civil society (empowering "the citizen" with a voice on how gangs should be responded to). The assumption is made that a democratic response to gang violence is best since, by definition, it will have legitimacy in the eyes of most of the population and they will support the actions of the government in dealing with gangs in Bermuda.

As a former United Nations Field Security Advisor-Balkans region, I have seen the implementation of successful initiatives for peace and stability in a post-conflict state.I have sat with political advisors and intelligence analysts and learned that failing to win public support ("hearts and minds") of the target community results in tactical impotence. The strategies deemed most successful by the UN Peacekeeping Operations shared a common theme: A balance of democratic and operational responses to the particular crisis.

Our leaders will begin to lose credibility on this issue; avoiding this requires a decrease in rhetoric and symbolic overreaction. Suggestions of curfews, routine roadblocks and searching everyone suspected of being gang-affiliated is wasteful and infringes on various human rights. The efforts (and money) should be focused on intelligence gathering, investigations and emergency response.

The threats of gang activities are recognisable. The offenders are our neighbours, friends, sons and daughters and so on. We need to stop pretending that gang activity is something that happens only in isolated areas of Bermuda. It knows no boundaries and is indiscriminant – just ask Friday's moviegoers in St. David's.

Responding to gang activity requires more than just robust policing. It requires public debate, support and empowerment. The government needs to formalise a strategy with the effective pairing of operational and democratic perspectives.

In the meantime, we can't allow the recent violence to change our lifestyles. By not becoming defensive, by not overreacting to unknown threats we demonstrate the resilience of our society, in our laws and our unique culture.

Jeffrey Baron is a former Police officer who also served in the UN Peacekeeping Operations in the Balkans. He is now an independent security and risk consultant.