Shadow National Security Minister Michael Dunkley said he’s concerned Government still has no plan in place to tackle the gang violence blighting the Island.Responding to news leaders have been researching anti-gang initiatives in the United States, Senator Dunkley said Government can only make headway if it starts showing discipline, commitment and leadership.He commended Government on looking into Operation Ceasefire-like programmes, but warned in a statement: “Bermuda will not make meaningful progress against the violence without treating the underlying situation that fosters gang culture and the violence that comes with it.“This is a long-term undertaking that will require discipline, commitment and leadership: three qualities the Government has not yet shown.“I say that not to be unduly negative but because we need to be realistic about our strengths and weaknesses and how we manage them to achieve solutions for the people.”Bermuda’s Interagency Anti-Gang Task Force will soon be publishing a report saying how American anti-gang models can be copied on the Island.One method favoured by the group is Brooklyn’s Save Our Streets programme, which involves church leaders working at street level and holding midnight barbecues in shooting hotspots to calm gangs down.But Sen Dunkley said, despite many promises, Government still doesn’t have a plan in place.“In the face of the escalating violence violence that the Police Service says has ‘severely affected the quality of life in communities across Bermuda’ the Government has remained on the sidelines,” he said.“Its Ministers have responded with rhetoric: ‘Enough is enough!’; overseen high-profile, short-lived Police deployments to trouble spots, and expressed well-intentioned but unformed ideas, and little real action, about harnessing the healing power of the community.“They have also approved cutbacks in the police budget, maintained police manpower below authorised levels and started a distracting political fight with the Governor over management of the police.“I welcomed the appointment of new National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief in April and we will try to support his work going forward. But I remain deeply concerned because the Government still has no plan in place to deal with gang-related violence.”Sen Dunkley pointed to soaring crime figures showing 37 people were shot last year, and three shot dead in the first three months of 2011.He continued: “Since April, the Government has spoken about a possible arms amnesty, bans against gang membership, banning dark visors and expanding the proceeds of crime legislation to seize assets without criminal convictions.“These scattered considerations tell me there is no overall vision guiding the Government’s thinking. We have had a Government that, in effect, is all talk no action, and action is what we need.“The Government may stumble into a plan by finally following the long-standing call to consider Operation Ceasefire.“The importance of such a programme is centred on the fact that the ceasefire programme applies both an operational and social response to the problem.“It is not enough to come down hard on gunplay; the Government must also press forward with a social programme that deals with the cultural side of this challenge.“Until we get that in place, we will continue to deal with a problem as it ebbs and flows but always threatening the larger well-being of the Island.”Useful websites: www.oba.bm