OPPOSITION Leader Wayne Furbert yesterday called for the Government to get tougher on criminals and change its "softly, softly" approach.

Mr. Furbert also slammed the Government for having "no plan on crime" in response to Premier Alex Scott's live TV address on Wednesday evening entitled "Law and Good Order".

In his statement, Mr. Scott said Bermuda was facing a "collective crisis" of crime and anti-social behaviour following a spate of shootings ? one fatal ? since April.

Mr. Scott also urged the public to join the fight against crime, vowed to bring the Police Service up to full strength and promised more visible policing of trouble spots.

But Mr. Furbert said yesterday the Premier's statement had shown "an alarming lack of detail" and spelled out what the United Bermuda Party believed needed to be done.

"There is no room for the 'softly, softly' approach that the Government introduced some years ago towards the threat of criminal drug gangs," Mr. Furbert said. "Tough action is essential on all crime, particularly against gangs, drug dealers and crimes of violence." He called for legislation to lengthen minimum sentences for those convicted of firearm offences and sexual assault against children, and for an increase in the minimum time to be served by convicted murderers.

Mr. Furbert continued: "There should be a balance between rehabilitation and punishment, but I and my colleagues believe the pendulum has swung too far in favour of the criminal.

"The judicial system seems to be more concerned about protecting the rights of the criminal than being concerned about the rights of the victim.

"To protect the public, we believe there is a need for legislation that keeps repeat criminal offenders, who represent a serious threat to society, behind bars longer."

Mr. Furbert said he understood the Police Service had up to 45 vacancies ? about ten per cent of its workforce ? and questioned why the Premier had allowed that situation to happen.

"The public has been asking for greater police presence on the street for years," Mr. Furbert said. "But it is only now, in the midst of a crisis, that the Government says it will deal with a situation that could have been dealt with long ago.

"The main point of the public's concern is that there is a serious situation at hand and an urgent need for action."

Mr. Furbert said St. George's should have two fully functioning police stations and that there should be performance indicators to monitor the island's policing. He also called for reductions in the time it took police to respond to calls from the public and a visible police presence in all neighbourhoods.

"Bermuda must send the strongest message to criminals that if they break the law there is a high degree of certainty that they will be caught, punished and prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Mr. Furbert added.

"To make sure that happens we have to urgently reform the criminal justice system, from the Attorney General's Chambers to the Department of Public Prosecutions to Corrections.

"It is essential that these and other organisations in the system have enough trained and experienced people, and enough money to fight crime from the streets to the courts."

Mr. Furbert said he had expected much more from Mr. Scott's address.

"I was expecting the Premier to use his address to seize upon these concerns and lay out a plan that we can all support," he said.

"What we got instead was recognition of the problem and sincere expressions of concern about its effects, but nothing that left me thinking the Government is in a position to do much about it. It is a very disturbing state of affairs. The Government does not seem to be engaged."

Mr. Furbert said that seven years of Progressive Labour Party rule had seen a worsening of the crime situation.

"It is a period that has witnessed the advance of new and disturbing trends in crime, particularly the emergence of gang-style violence among our young people, and the continuing scourge of illegal drugs," he said.

"People are concerned that the country is less safe. They are especially concerned for the safety of their children. The possibility of violence on the streets has crept into their day-to-day thinking. Doubts about the safety of public events are now commonplace.

"Drive-by shootings, the spread of guns, gang culture are becoming part of the landscape."