It's not too late to crack Bermuda's spiralling gang problem, according to the new senior Police officer tasked with doing just that.

Assistant commissioner David Mirfield has 35 years experience policing the West Midlands of the UK, and spearheaded a campaign that dramatically reduced gun and gang crime there.

Although Bermuda is reeling from an escalation in such crime including ten fatal shootings in the past 14 months he's confident it can be reversed here too.

"I had the opportunity to drive around. I feel safe here. I don't see anything here that concerns me in terms of safety, and I think you need to be careful that you don't overemphasise the harm that gangs are doing to the communities because I don't see anything here that really scares me," he said yesterday, during his first day on the job.

"What I see here is a lot of opportunities to change people's lives, but it won't be done overnight, and not just by me but through a national coordinated effort.

"The main thing to take from what I've seen initially is this is still a beautiful Island that really has a large amount of passion amongst the community and everyone cares so much, but at times they don't know where to turn.

"One of my roles will be to ensure I can help people turn things around, if that's what they really want."

Mr. Mirfield, 51, has a wide remit including the investigation of murders and attempted murders, gang criminality, firearms operations and public disorder. He's also heading up the intelligence division and specialist investigations in areas including drugs, firearms and financial crime.

A key focus when doing a similar job in his home area which includes the UK's second biggest city, Birmingham was a "joined-up" approach.

"I had a very extensive partnership arrangement in Birmingham, not just the partners you would imagine but also health, education, housing, local authorities. It's got as much to do with health as education. People can feel that their life is being affected by serious crime to such an extent it's affecting their health," he explained.

He views the education system as a crucial factor, however, explaining that he has worked closely with mothers of murder victims in the UK. They often speak of how their child initially did well at school, only to fall prey to negative influences around the age of 11 and drift out of the education system.

"It's not just Bermuda or the UK, it's the world over if you allow people to drift and put them through an education system that leaves them with nowhere to go," he said. "You have to look at the education. I've been here a few days so I don't know [but] I see a similar pattern here as in the UK where you allow youngsters to drift, to leave school."

Noting that some of Bermuda's recent shooting victims have been as young as 16 years old, he observed: "The sad fact is, I don't think anyone really and truly wants to be in a gang. One of the things that came from my involvement [in the UK] was the three Rs — revenge, revenue and respect. People join gangs for probably one of those three reasons and sometimes all three. The age at which they get to that will be determined by their background or family make-up.

"I don't think anyone sets out thinking 'I'm going to join a gang'. They want to do well and be wealthy but one of those three things happens to them. They feel they can make more money, or something happens and they feel disrespected, or something happens and they want to get revenge.

"And that's where, at a young age, good parenting comes in and the whole force of the community needs to take over and dissuade them. It isn't just a policing issue. We're here to enforce [the law] but you can't right the ills of a community."

Mr. Mirfield retired as a Chief Superintendent with West Midlands Police in April. In the year before he left, there were just three gun-related deaths, compared to previous years which averaged 20 or 30. Bermuda which has a tiny population in comparison to the one million plus living in Birmingham saw four gun murders last year and six so far this year.

The local Police have struggled to put people before the courts, often citing problems caused by witnesses who are reluctant to come forward. Just two people are facing murder charges in respect of the past ten slayings.

Mr. Mirfield would not comment on the ongoing investigations, or on new witness protection measures tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday, saying: "It's probably not right for me to comment on new legislation going through Parliament."

However, he noted that such measures were used with success by his old Police force. He also confirmed that he appears to have "the right amount" of resources to get the job done, and said more specialists may be recruited from overseas if necessary.

Mr. Mirfield was keen to emphasise how far Bermuda Police have come in the relatively short space of time since the first of the spate of gang shootings in May 2009.

"I am totally confident it can be turned around. I would not be here if I didn't think that was the case," he said. "Bermuda has caught up really quickly. This is a phenomenon that's been around maybe 18 months, two years, and already the things I see that have been put in place are working in the UK. Bermuda is working really well to tackle this."

Asked what he will bring to the table to help boost those efforts, he replied: "I'm passionate, I'm experienced, a good listener. I'm somebody that will embrace the communities of Bermuda and hopefully get to understand what people are thinking on the ground, and not just somebody who listens to individuals who don't necessarily have the honest view of life in Bermuda."