This weekend's shooting of a 62-year-old man in Smith's parish is just the latest demonstration that violence in Bermuda is out of hand.

The Police can recalculate the crime statistics all they like, usually leaving people more confused than ever, but the main question the public has is this: Are we safer today than we were a year ago, or two years ago, or ten years ago?

And the answer is a resounding no. You cannot be safer when teenagers are killed for gold chains, when 14-year-old girls are murdered by their "boyfriends" who are 20 years older than them, when 62-year-old men are robbed and shot in their homes and when people are assaulted and left for dead in the streets of Hamilton.

What the Police need to do is to deploy their officers where they are most needed. And the excuse that there are not enough officers to meet demand does not wash any more. Give Public Safety Minister Sen. David Burch credit for this; the Police manpower situation is vastly improved from where it was four or five years ago.

Now the Police need to deploy their officers where they are most needed and they need to execute their responsibilities without fear or favour. Now is the time to really implement "broken window" policing and to hold people responsible. And now is the time for the Government to stop trying to score points by blaming Government House for crime.

What the Police are correct in saying is that they cannot be expected to anticipate all crimes, and they cannot solve crimes without the assistance of the public. Nor can they be held responsible for the causes of crime. That's a job for the Government, and for the general public.

That's not to say that there is not room for collaboration. In fact, collaboration is critical. Only when Government, the Police, parents, peers and all other members of the community are working together towards a common goal will the rise in crime be reversed.

The Police cannot blame the Government and vice versa. Parents cannot turn a blind eye to their children's behaviour and then cry when their children are arrested, injured or killed. And the community must stop pretending that crime is something that happens to someone else. We are all involved.

Some weeks ago, this newspaper called for Government and the Police to look at the "Ceasefire" programme which uses a carrot and stick approach to get people out of gangs and into worthwhile endeavours.

We renew that call. Police and social workers gather gang members together and give them a choice of taking a way out or facing the consequences of their actions.

No one would pretend that this is guaranteed to work, but it's worth a try.