Bermudians are, rightly, concerned about crime.

And trotting out statistics which show that violent crime has fallen does no good if people perceive that they are more at risk than ever before.

Bermuda should start by taking another look at New York City's approach in the 1990s which reduced the city's murder rate and overall crime rates dramatically by cracking down on minor crimes.

That approach is now being repeated in Los Angeles by former New York City Police commissioner William Bratton.

Mr. Bratton's "broken windows" theory essentially states that a broken window signals that no one cares. Graffiti, vandalism and prostitution foster fear and more serious crimes follow.

"What people see every day generates so much of their fear," Mr. Bratton told the Los Angeles Times recently. "Graffiti, homelessness and drug dealers. That's what drives people out of the cities. It's all about quality of life issues."

Sound familiar? Bermuda may not have as serious a crime problem as Los Angeles or New York, but it is that same sense of discomfort and fear that is driving the current debate on crime.

Cracking down on minor crimes sends a message to major criminals that they are not welcome.

And when you arrest a minor drug dealer, you may also be taking a violent criminal off the streets.

To work, it requires ensuring that narcotics officers, anti-gang officers and neighbourhood Police officers work in concert together and it means dedicating Police officers to front-line policing, something from which Bermuda seems to have moved away.

But the policy only works if the community gets behind it. Mr. Bratton's approach involves forming community boards of people from the neighbourhoods to help the Police in identifying trouble spots and trouble makers.

That means that making excuses for law-breakers, or ignoring minor infractions cannot go on. If a beggar is harassing members of the public, the Police have to deal with him. If a person is caught spraying graffiti, they have to be punished.

That does not mean that the causes of crimes should not be dealt with too. Policies like Alternatives to Incarceration, education for the homeless and the like have to be done as well.

In the long run, educational standards have to be raised to give young people who would otherwise fall into drug dealing and the like a vision that they can have a better life.

And restoring social standards has to happen too.

But the first step must be to put a stop to broken windows, littering, blatant disregard for the law and so on.

It requires that members of the public report crimes when they see them and stop turning a blind eye.

It requires that the Police get out of their offices and cars and make arrests and build cases.

It requires that prosecutors make sure they have a solid case before they go to court and then that they prosecute the case to the best of their ability.

It requires that the Government gives those responsible for enforcing the law the resources they need and then makes sure the resources are used well.

When that is done, then people will no longer live in fear.