The murders of Maxwell Brangman and Frederick Gilbert have once again driven Bermuda, and the community of St. David's in particular, into mourning.

Mr. Brangman and Mr. Gilbert are the fifth and sixth people to have died violently in the last ten months. The others are Kellon Hill, who was killed at a beach party, schoolgirl Rhiana Moore, musician Matthew Clarke and Aquil Richardson, who died on Boxing Day, 2007.

The good news in these cases is that for the most part, the Police have made arrests and people will be facing trial. For that reason as well, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the cases.

But it is fair to say that what separates the deaths of Mr. Brangman and Mr. Gilbert from others is the brutality of their deaths and the fact that by all accounts they were men who lived their own lives in their own ways but would do no harm to anyone.

It is difficult and dangerous to say that one murder is worse than another, but the sheer pointlessness of these men's deaths is what stands out today. Having said that, there must be a concern in Bermuda that residents are becoming numb and indifferent to deaths. The outpouring of shock in the community that followed the death of Kellon Hill suggests that this may not be so. But it is worrying that murder may simply become a part of ordinary life in Bermuda.

The way to prevent that happening is to ensure that the Police receive all they assistance they can get in this case and no one should fail to report what they know out of some misguided sense of loyalty or fear. Two apparently innocent people have lost their lives, and that outweighs all other considerations.

Government has also begun to launch a number of other initiatives as well. The misbegotten SWAT team idea seems to have dropped from the headlines, giving time for other ideas to be debated. This newspaper remains concerned that parental responsibility laws will be difficult to enforce, but welcomes the expansion of the Mirrors Programme and improved discipline in the schools, along with the tying together of parenting courses with Financial Aid. But more ideas are needed and more needs to be done.

Involving the clergy in this initiative is welcome, just as it was decades ago in combating the drugs scourge. One fears that they will be mainly preaching to the converted, but if the churches can persuade even one person to abandon a life of crime and violence, then it will be worth it.

Placing more Police officers on the streets seems to be working, but this newspaper would like to see some form of comprehensive community policing reintroduced. While this is often perceived as the "softer side" of policing, it works. The flip side is that many members of the community do not feel enough confidence or trust in the Police to call on them when they are in trouble. This requires that the Police actively pursue all complaints.

Even so, the public still needs to provide the Police or Crime Stoppers with any evidence they may have about the deaths of Maxwell Brangman and Frederick Gilbert. Successful arrests and prosecutions in this case are the best way to build confidence in the Police and to show that these two men did not die entirely in vain.