Neighbourhoods must stand together to tackle the issue of crime, according to National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief.Speaking at a recent meeting organised by the Progressive Labour Party, Mr Perinchief told an audience of almost 100 west end residents that Police are working hard to prevent crime, communities need to come together to do their part.“I believe that Bermudians generally like to police their own communities,” Mr Perinchief said. “This is a different situation that we are in.“We need to be our brother’s keepers.”The meeting at Dalton E Tucker Primary was scheduled to be hosted by PLP MP’s Terry Lister and Randy Horton, but Mr Lister told the audience that Mr Horton was unable to attend due to a medical issue.Mr Lister, the MP for Sandys South, told the crowd that the meeting was being held to give the residents an opportunity to voice their concerns and hear about what the Police and Government are doing to fight crime in the west end.“I want to leave here with a greater sense of security,” Mr Lister said. “I want us all to leave here with a greater sense of security.”Mr Perinchief said a recent survey had shown that the general public are more satisfied with police than in the past, but those results were not echoed in Somerset and Sandys.While he noted that the area has seen its share of serious crime in recent years, he said: “The good news is the situation that had developed is abating, mostly because of the assistance of the public, and the police and the Government listened to what was requested.”He explained that due to the concerns of the public, the Police began to utilise Section 110 of the Criminal Code Amendment Act, allowing them to prevent people from congregating in problem areas.Since the police began to enforce the legislation in the Cambridge Road area, he said problems in the area have dissipated.“It’s a real powerful legislation,” Mr Perinchief said. “Despite all the loud noise and bluster from the so-called miscreants in the press, low and behold they evaporated.“They decided to be discreet and use common sense. We believe the same action that was taken in that area could be taken in other areas.”He said that in his experience, a large number of offences are carried out by people who live in the area, noting a recent case in St Davids.“Someone was seen carrying a flat screen TV and a laptop. Some people saw them, and said it was so on and so on and so on,” Mr Perinchief said.“They were neighbourhood boys. Sometimes it’s your own fleas that bite you.”To combat the issue of young offenders, he said that Government is working on a new residential programme aimed at helping young men get back on the right track, teaching them life skills and helping them find employment.Mr Perinchief also stressed the importance of neighbourhood watch programmes, saying that people need to know their neighbours and look out for them.Acting Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell of the Somerset Police Station said that police in the West End will continue to work around Cambridge Road to make the area less attractive to the antisocial element, installing speed bumps and trimming trees to remove hiding places.And he said police are looking into trying the Section 110 legislation in other areas, such as around Maxi Mart and Woodlawn Road. “They are my next target,” he said. “We will be coming down the road.”However, he joined Mr Perinchief in saying that the community must get involved in order to make a lasting difference by both communicating with police and looking out for one another.He also said that upstanding members of the community need to work with the young people to encourage them to turn their lives around.“We cannot arrest these guys out of it,” he said. “We get them stuck in a revolving door. That system doesn’t work and we’re losing too many young men.“We have got to do the front-end work first. They need us all to go our there and have the right kind of conversation with them. It’s not going to happen overnight. We have to be consistent.”Several members of the public also spoke out about their concerns during the meeting.One woman, who was the victim of a robbery earlier this year on Benny’s Bay Road, said she was hurt by the suggestion that it was young men from her area who threatened her with machetes.“When I realised what was happening I laid on my horn, but no one turned on their lights,” she said. “We were attacked. I don’t know how we got out of it.”Another west end resident, a taxi driver, said he had reported incidents in the past, but was angered by the dismissive attitude of some officers.Insp Cardwell and members of the Community Action Team apologised for any issues in the past, but said that many of his concerns have been addressed by various changes in both legislation and policy.