I urge any Bermudian who is concerned about crime to read the Joint Select Committee report on the causes of violent crime and gun violence.It is a thoughtful, compassionate study conducted in the midst of a crime crisis that has shaken the foundations of Bermuda.It captures the deep concerns of Bermudians as reflected in the many presentations made to the committee.It is also the kind of good work I spoke about in my Reply to the Throne Speech, where we strive for more collaboration and less confrontation, where we join together to find solutions to our national challenges.As a result, we were presented with a report about Bermuda by Bermudians, not PLP Bermudians, not OBA Bermudians, but Bermudians.It is my hope these joint efforts will grow in the future. We are too small to keep our people apart. It is up to us to set the example. It is important to show we can work together; because if we can, everyone can.I believe, as do my colleagues, that we have to use our public offices to generate a new spirit of belief and optimism in Bermuda and this report is an excellent start.Anyone who reads the Joint Select Committee’s report will be intimidated if not shocked by the enormity of the problem facing this Island.Gang violence is the tip of the iceberg.Beneath the surface is a web of deeply entrenched, interconnecting problems that are producing young men who are willing to shoot down rivals in broad daylight, in front of families flying kites or coming out of a movie theatre.We are in the midst of the most serious crime crisis in Bermuda’s history:Ÿ The number of firearms incidents has doubled every year since 2007.Ÿ One person was shot in 2008, 17 in 2009 and 37 in 2010. Of the total shot, 16 died. So far in 2011, eight people have been murdered, five by gunshot wounds.Ÿ There are more than 20 unsolved murders on the books. Fourteen of them involved the use of firearms.In its investigation, the Joint Select Committee shed light on a society that is creating this world of violence.In our schools, we see:Ÿ More kids taking the wrong path at younger agesŸ With criminal behaviour, gang relationships and drug use often beginning at Middle School level andŸ With children selling drugs and children taking drugs because of peer pressure.We see neighbourhoods troubled by crime, drugs and gang culture making it very difficult for young children to see a positive future.We see dysfunctional families producing angry, violent, disruptive behaviour in children.We see what are described as “negative child outcomes” in single parent homes; usually a mother, struggling because the absent father is not sending child maintenance payments.These are homes where conditions make it more likely a child will walk the path to crime and drug addiction.We see a prison system with a 50 percent recidivism rate, where 85 percent of inmates have addiction problems or committed drug-related crimes, and where employment after prison is extremely difficult, creating a cycle of poverty, anger, frustration.We see a judicial system in which convictions are difficult to achieve because jury members so often have connections to the accused or because witnesses are reluctant to give evidence in court for fear of retaliation.We see a Police Service trying its best to get a grip on gang and gun violence with shrinking budgets, manpower shortages and obsolete technology.There are two deeply disturbing facts that emerge from the Joint Select Committee’s study, and they should guide all our thoughts going forward:The first is that it is the children of Bermuda who are on the front lines of this conflict. Police and teachers are often described in this way, but really it is the children, many of whom live with these challenging conditions 24/7. It is their life and we must do everything in our power to improve conditions to give them the best opportunities to live full and productive lives.The second disturbing fact is that the system is not working. Not at the school level, not at the family level, not at the community level, not at the judicial level, not at the law enforcement level.That may seem a harsh judgment because there are many exceptions, many areas in which good people are making a difference; where good parents are raising their children well, where teachers are teaching well, where coaches are inspiring youngsters and where jurors are bravely doing the right thing.But in the main, this report paints a picture of a society breaking down. It is a picture many of us know in our gut to be true.This is the great value of the Joint Select Committee’s report, because it has helped all of us step back to see the big picture. It is a step that needed to be taken for anyone who wants to make a difference in what is happening.Up to this point, Bermuda has been busy putting out brushfires without noticing the forest fire. The Joint Select Committee report has done us a great service by focusing our attention on that forest fire, and it is a big one.Up to now, we have seen Government initiatives providing Police with greater powers, initiatives to support single parents, initiatives to educate children to the dangers of drugs and gangs. Outside of Government, we have seen community action groups step forward to secure neighbourhoods and dialogue with gang members.Each initiative has merit, but what has been missing all along is a comprehensive approach to a problem that has been brewing for years and that now threatens the very fabric of our society.The failure to act in a way that effectively addresses the scope of the violent crime problem from the shootings to their underlying causes is something only the Government can answer.One can question its priorities and commitment why, for example, has it repeatedly cut the Police budget in the midst of an unprecedented crime crisis? Why, for example, has there been no clear progress on reforming an education system five years after Professor Hopkins said it was “on the brink of a meltdown.”I raise these questions because the Government has a big role to play going forward. Only the Government has the administrative reach, the legislative power and the resources to solve national problems.The Joint Select Committee report is the Government’s opportunity to raise its game, to reset the dials and get policies, programmes and partnerships in place that can get this Island moving along a better path, where young people come from healthy homes, get a solid education and go on to live full, productive, law-abiding lives.The One Bermuda Alliance supports the Joint Select Committee’s call for a national plan. The need for it is obvious, and has been obvious for a long time.Without a comprehensive plan that deals with the totality of the gang problem, Bermuda’s Police will be doing nothing more than putting band aids on a social problem that will not heal.Putting together a national plan will raise the challenge posed by violent crime to a national priority. The plan should be centred on two basic goals suggested by the Joint Select Committee:Ÿ Making Bermuda safer for our children and their families,Ÿ Improving their lives and making them less susceptible to antisocial behaviour.This won’t be easy. There is right now a serious lack of coordination between helping agencies. There are overlapping mandates and no guiding vision that drives their work toward a common goal.We believe there is a need for greater coordination and cooperation between these agencies and also room for greater efficiencies.We think the National Summit proposed by the Joint Select Committee is a good place to start looking at how effectively these services are being delivered and to create a guiding vision for what we want them to achieve for our children and their families.Bermuda is in good position to intervene family by family at an early stage, even before any problems of a criminal nature take shape, and this is a strategic advantage that should be fully developed.We believe there is merit in gang mediation. There is no guarantee of success, but it may help reduce the enmity between gangs something the Joint Select Committee noted more than once.Operation Ceasefire can also play a vital role in the national plan. As we’ve said before, it is not a cure-all but a vital step Bermuda needs to take.Operation Ceasefire has achieved remarkable successes in some of the toughest environments in the world. Their operations help lower the temperature on the streets and that is something Bermuda needs. In addition, the Island is well-positioned for a ceasefire operation. Police are well along in their identification of all gangs, gang members and their turf. This is essential information for the programme to get off the ground. In addition, Bermuda has a community of social workers, active clergy and community activists who can be enlisted for the helping hand side of the operation.The Government also needs to provide the Police Service with all the support it needs to do the job we want them to do. This means a budget that enables them to patrol the island at all hours and to employ crime-fighting technology such as a properly manned CCTV system across the island. Policing is an area where we can do more with more. It is not an area for the Government’s debt-driven slogan of “doing more with less.”The scope of the work outlined by the Joint Select Committee reflects the scope of the challenge before us. Bermuda has been allowed to drift for too long. The awareness of dysfunctional families, widespread drug use, poor education standards and the ever-growing numbers of at-risk children has not prompted any kind off concerted response from the Government.It is late in the day, but now is the time. The work of a small group of Members of Parliament sitting down together as Bermudians has given us an opportunity to finally take on this elephant in the room.I am hopeful we can move forward.That can only happen with a coherent national plan to deal with the causes of violent behaviour and gun crime.Until we address this challenge in a deliberate, methodical way where we commit resources where they can do the most good we will continue to go the way we are going which is not acceptable.This is our time. This is our challenge. This is our duty. Let’s get it done.