Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley is celebrating the announcement that the crime rate on the Island continue to fall.And while the Minister praised the police service and Commissioner Michael DeSilva for their hard work, he acknowledged that more work still must be done.“The results of the second quarter are certainly gratifying, but as the Minister of Public Safety I will say that there’s still a lot of work to be done. We are well aware that the challenges we face are still there, simmering under the surface,” he said.“The people of Bermuda can be assured that we will continue to work with the Bermuda Police Service to do whatever we can to support them, to help them to continue this trend in the right way.”Mr DeSilva revealed on Wednesday that overall crime rates have fallen to their lowest rate since 2000, with only 834 crimes reported in the second quarter of the year.And while three murders have already been recorded this year — two believed to be gang related — Mr DeSilva said gang-related violence has reached its lowest point in four years.Mr Dunkley said: “When you look at having only one shooting in the second quarter, when you look at the stats and see there were a number of firearms seized and taken out of circulation since the beginning of the year, it goes to show that no only is the enforcement and policing plan having an effect, a real positive effect on what’s going, it also shows that some of the initiatives that the Government currently has enacted are starting to be successful. Those results will not pull us back. Those results will energise us to continue working with the police service and make Bermuda a safer place.”Asked if he felt the new Government could take any credit for the drop-off in criminal activity, Mr Dunkley said: “I am very pleased to see that we are heading in the right direction, and we will do everything we can to help going forward.“Credit has to go to the police service and the Commissioner for the leadership, and that’s where I think the people should look.”While Shadow Public Safety Minister Michael Scott said: “The strong measures the Progressive Labour Party put in place, including stronger laws and tougher sentences, have taken criminals off the streets and helped make Bermuda safer for our people.“The current crime statistics represent a downward trend that began in 2009 and continued up to the present. The real credit should not go to the OBA, but to our Police Commissioner Michael Desilva and the fine men and women under his command.“Under his leadership, we've seen impeccable investigative work leading to more arrests and more convictions. Our partnership with the Bermuda Police Service and the legislative and policy seeds planted by the PLP are bearing fruit for our people today.”He listed initiatives such as witness protection and the electronic monitoring of offenders as measures put in place during the previous administration, along with providing additional resources to the Police Service.“Our people are taking their neighbourhoods back and the anti-gang strategy begun under the PLP is working,” Mr Scott said.“I must give special praise and thanks to the people living in communities hardest hit and most impacted by crime, for partnering with the community policing strategies.“Whether through neighbourhood watches, providing hard intelligence that leads to arrests, serving on juries or simply showing the courage to speak out, you are taking our streets back.”