Empowering cash-strapped community groups, and bringing sex offenders’ registry legislation before Parliament, are among the Opposition’s pledges in its platform for crime and education.And an expansion of preschool places, especially for single parents, was promised by Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons.Meanwhile, every Cabinet Minister would be asked what their plan was to tackle gang violence, according to National Security spokesman Jeff Baron, who said that the One Bermuda Alliance would “pivot toward social engagement” in reining in crime.The announcements followed the release of the OBA’s “pre-platform piece” — a brief on the Opposition’s aims.A full platform will be coming soon, Mr Cannonier said.He emphasised social engagement in his remarks, saying the initiatives came from “the ideas and solutions that you, Bermuda, have”.Mr Baron followed, pledging the OBA would address “the myriad social problems, including gang violence, that have bedevilled the current government”.He said a pillar of the Opposition’s crime platform would be intensive public engagement that would include working very closely with youth volunteer organisations.The Pembroke Central candidate said it would represent a “significant change from any platform you would have seen in policy in Bermuda”.He said the bottom line for such groups was: “We need more volunteers, and we need more funding.”The OBA continues to favour the anti-gang initiative Operation Ceasefire. They call also for the police to post “crime maps” online for the community to keep track of — and for confiscated criminal assets to go into a ‘Cash Back for Communities’ programme.The Opposition also favours a public sex offender register, which Mr Cannonier acknowledged would require changes at the legislative level.That would include laws that require the media to withhold the names of perpetrators, he said.The Opposition stood by its pledge to put in place “a fully integrated technical curriculum, starting in the middle schools”.Dr Gibbons said that senior school was too late to start technical and vocational training.He noted that out of Bermuda’s roughly 900 chefs, about 80 percent are on work permits, and said more Bermudians were needed in “hospitality, construction and healthcare”.His call for more preschool places was echoed by Sandys South candidate Toni Spring.Ms Spring said her focus, as an educator, would be on an extended school day that would integrate teachers’ time with after-school and extra-curricular activities.She said teachers needed “support and resources”, as opposed to “more and more training”.Dr Gibbons said there had been a shift in Bermuda “away from the more blue-collar and hospitality jobs, to jobs that involve more college degrees”.And he said the salaries of “master teachers” needed to be improved, to keep the best educators from being moved up the ranks into principal or administrative positions.Useful website: www.oba.bm