If there is a benefit of any kind coming out of the escalation in gun crime, it is that the community is finally coming together to act.

That is evident from the marches that have taken place already and will take place today and over the weekend, and from the Rise Above, Bermuda organisation that has sprung up very quickly and had attracted a broad cross section of people.

It has been said by the Police and those in authority that this crisis will only be averted when the community comes together to stop it. That's beginning to happen, and it is critical that Rise Above and other organisations get the support they need now. This is Bermuda's last, best chance.

In part, it would appear that these groups are getting support because the Island's politicians, some with the best of intentions, keep getting tied up in arguments about who should have operational control of the Police and who has the best ideas.

Rise Above, Bermuda is getting support because it seems to be about action, not talk.

The current crisis is too serious to be ignored while people talk. Marches in the affected neighbourhoods, genuine efforts to get gang members off the streets and into work or school are what is needed now.

There are some signs that is now happening, but Bermuda cannot afford to have those efforts derailed. And it is also critical that the momentum that is now underway does not dissipate.

If there isn't a shooting for a month, or if an arrest is made, that does not mean the problem has gone away unless the conditions that caused it go away too.

And if something is not done, the next victim will be an innocent bystander, perhaps a child in pre-school, or an elderly person or simply someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one should believe that they are immune from violent crime. It is all around us and spreading.

So this newspaper absolutely supports the efforts of Rise Above, Bermuda, YouthNet, Mirrors and all of the other groups that are working to stop the madness. It is also critical that groups come together to co-ordinate their efforts so that they can pack the biggest possible punch.

In the meantime, this newspaper again urges members of the public to come forward to the Police with the information they have so the perpetrators of these crimes can be arrested, prosecuted and convicted.

Music Festival

Apart from the show stopping performance by Wyclef Jean, about the only positive thing that can be said about the 2009 Bermuda Music Festival is that it lost less money than the 2008 version.

For all the pleasure that the Festival has brought local music fans – and performances by Mr. Jean, Beyonce and Alicia Keys have been undoubtedly memorable – it has consistently failed in its primary objectives, namely to attract foreign visitors to the event and to raise Bermuda's profile as a destination.

This was true long before Premier Dr. Ewart Brown became Tourism Minister, but Dr. Brown's efforts to add more "sizzle" to the event has resulted in drastically higher costs without an equivalent return on investment.

The time has now come to scrap the festival and to use the money being wasted on it on more effective marketing approaches.

In 2009, the Festival lost approximately $2 million and attracted a meagre 383 overseas visitors. In 2008, the loss was $3 million with some 1,500 visitors coming. In 2007, the profit or loss has never been revealed, although revenues were $1.68 million and about 1,500 visitors attended. In 2006, the festival lost $1.5 million.

So the Festival has lost $5.5 million in three of the last four years, while the number of visitors has dropped and was never substantial to begin with.

That money could have been spent on direct marketing, or not spent at all. All in all, it is clear that it's time to put the Bermuda Music Festival out of its misery.