Even gang members are baffled by the recent spate of firearm incidents but say they must defend themselves, according to a member of a grassroots anti-gang group.

Pastor Leroy Bean said he has been told by persons affiliated with gangs that gang members do not know why shots are being fired.

"Many of them are just as betwixt, they don't know why half this stuff is happening," said Mr. Bean, a member of the group Challenging and Reclaiming the True Essence of Life (CARTEL). "They too are asking 'what is happening?'.

"They don't know what is going on, but equally they feel they cannot stand by and allow it. They feel they must defend themselves."

On Tuesday, a 19-year-old was shot in the leg while on Tribe Road No. 5, near the junction of Ord Road.

The Royal Gazette understands the victim was Paget resident Damien Morris.

The shooting marks the 14th firearm incident in 2009.

Police yesterday thanked members of the public who have provided them with information, but said no arrests had been made.

According to Mr. Bean, while something must be done to halt the violence, current efforts bear rumblings of a Police state.

He feels that Government is too focused on increased policing and seeing anti-gang legislation passed.

Efforts should instead be directed at rehabilitating gang members and preventing others from following in their footsteps, he argued.

Premier Ewart Brown has announced plans to table anti-gang laws in the autumn Parliamentary term.

He said that Government is looking at introducing similar legislation to that currently in place in Australia, where being a member of a 'declared organisation' such as a gang, is illegal.

Government also plans to examine several amendments to existing legislation such as the Summary Offences Act, the Liquor Licence Act, the Criminal Code and the Private Investigators and Security Guards Regulations in a bid to help Police better address the issues of anti-social behaviour.

However Mr. Bean said: "It sounds as if we are heading towards a Police state. Everything seems to be so punitive. There needs to be programmes and policies that help rehabilitate people.

"They are looking for a quick fix and it is not going to work. This problem did not just spring up, it has taken a generation to happen and there are no quick fixes.

"This anti-gang legislation they are talking about sounds like a quick fix, and it is not going to work."

The legislation is bound to anger many in the public, Mr. Bean said. "Who is to say who is in a gang and who is not?

"A lot of innocent people will be caught up in this, arrested because they are dressing in the style and not because they are really a part of a gang. And with a good lawyer, I think many people would be able to easily get out of the charges."

Referring to Deputy Premier Paula Cox's recent statement that Government is to implement a "coherent joined-up approach" to tackle the problem, Mr. Bean said it focused too much on punishing people.

He said he believed that a three-pronged attack was the best plan the Ministry of Justice being one prong, the Police another and social rehabilitation the third but felt Government's plan focused too much on the first two prongs.

"We cannot come in and do punitive measures without doing other things," he said. "I believe in a three-pronged approach, but a real three-pronged approach. At the moment I am hearing more about policing and the Ministry of Justice and less about the other prong.

"We need more programmes and policies rehabilitating people.

"I support the Government for trying to address the issue, but I do not believe a quick fix will work."