Commissioner of Police Jonathan Smith?s statements in this week should go some way to reassuring the public that the Police are not standing idly by as violent crime rises.

The fact that the street value of drugs seized by the Police in 2002 was higher than the Service?s entire budget, coupled with the fact that the Police face an increasingly violent and armed group of young criminals, shows the magnitude of the problems that the Police face.

Given all of that, the officers who serve on the front line of the service deserve credit for what they can do, even if there are times when it does not seem to be enough.

That is due to the fact that the Police are inevitably a reactive force. They cannot prevent a crime from happening, although they can anticipate when a situation is likely to lead to violence or crimes, whether it is at a concert or when a well-known housebreaker is released from prison and is likely to get the old tool bag back out.

Reducing the likelihood of crime is the responsibility of the whole community and it will only be when the causes of crime are really addressed that the Island will see a decline.

Certainly, too many violent offenders are young and the influence of drugs is obvious.

Many of the solutions have been well-aired in the past. Better parenting, more discipline in the schools, a better example set by adults and a heavier emphasis on drug prevention programmes are all important facets. Religion?s lessons, especially the golden rule, can play a part as well.

In Government?s Throne Speech last month, it was announced that Government is also working on a blueprint for a National Youth Service.

According to the speech, ?this initiative will allow young people from local youth service organisations to work together to enhance service to the community?.

And the aim of the initiative, for which planning is already underway, with the aim of ensuring that ?services for youth? are efficiently coordinated and will learn about the benefits of giving back to the community.

This is all to the good, but may not go far enough. There has been a good deal of publicity concerning conscription to the Bermuda Regiment in recent months.

This newspaper supports conscription and the important role that the Regiment plays, not only in internal security and emergencies like Hurricane Fabian, but as a shaper of young men and women in a setting that teaches self-discipline and teamwork. It is also worth noting the role of the Regiment as a force for racial integration.

The fundamental unfairness of the Regiment ?draft? is not conscription itself, but the fact that it is random. Every 18-year-old should be required to perform some form of community service on a part-time basis.

The Regiment clearly needs a certain number of recruits each year, but there is an endless list of other services, including St. John Ambulance, the Parks Service, organisations that help the elderly and indigent and so on like that could benefit from the help of Bermuda?s young people. In this way, the National Youth Service would not be coordinating ?services for youth?; it could coordinate the services of young people to help the whole community.

Then the ultimate beneficiaries would be Bermuda?s young people themselves as they learn the lesson that, to paraphrase John F. Kennedy, it?s not what your country can do for you, but what you can for your country that counts.