The Bermuda Police Service is up to the task of tackling gang violence, according to Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva.However, the Commissioner told the audience of a town-hall meeting last night that they can only solve the problem with the assistance of the community.Recalling a conversation with US Attorney General Eric Holder, Mr DeSilva said: “You cannot legislate you way out of this problem, you cannot arrest your way out of this problem. The community must build the way out of this problem.”The Commissioner was joined on the panel by Deputy Commissioner Mike Jackman, and the three Assistant Commissioners, Paul Wright, Antoine Daniels and David Mirfield.Mr DeSilva said that since the boost of gun violence in 2009, the Police Service has had to adapt. While only around six officers had been assigned to murder investigations in the past, there are now 30 to 32 officers working in the department regularly.“More people have been shot in the last four years than in the forty years before that,” the Commissioner said. “Since 2009 we have also received 61 people being shot and injured.“That’s 23 murder investigations and 61 attempted murder investigations for the police to investigate in the last four years.“That is a workload that the Bermuda Police Service has never seen.”However, he said by building stronger relationships with the community, the police have been able to make multiple arrests and convictions.The panel tackled a number of questions from the public. Mr DeSilva said that one of the more common questions asked was why the police don’t just arrest the gang members if they know who they are.He responded: “There is a significant difference between knowing something and being able to prove something.”Mr Jackman said that the police service has been expanding it’s use of technology to combat crime, and said that the service has developed a plan to improve the breadth of CCTV coverage.“We expect within the next six months to be able to cover from Dockyard to St George’s,” he said. “We are really getting close to the cutting edge of technology.”Asked about the potential of a gun amnesty, Mr DeSilva said the concept is not without flaws. While those who turn in guns are given amnesty for possessing the weapons, the matter is more complicated if the firearm is linked to other crimes.He expressed similar concerns about gun buy-back programmes, which also carry the risk of allowing criminals to turn a profit by importing weapons, but said cash-for-information programmes are a win-win. The person get’s paid and we go and get the gun of the street,” he said.