"Lies, damned lies and statistics" runs the famed and somewhat overused saying, and few statistics are subject to wider and differing interpretations than crime statistics.

In the 2007 election, hours of airtime and mountains of newsprint were devoted to the argument between the Progressive Labour Party and the United Bermuda Party over crime.

Broadly speaking, with each party taking a different starting point to track crime, the PLP was able to claim that crime rates were about the same or lower than they had been over the previous decade while the UBP argued that there was a serious upward trend.

That then fed the wider debate over crime solutions. The UBP argued generally for harsher penalties while the PLP claimed rehabilitation was working.

Since then, new statistics appear to put the lie to the PLP's claims.

According to the Police statistics for 2007, violent crime has jumped 44.5 percent in the last seven years, robberies have soared by 48 percent in the same period and virtually all other crimes have also risen.

Taking a shorter timeframe, now it becomes clear that crime in 2007 rose dramatically, from 2,302 crimes in 2004 and 2,637 in 2006 to 2852 in 2007.

Violent crime remained virtually static compared to 2006, at 305 crimes, but this seems largely due to the fact that one class of crimes – assault causing grievous bodily harm dropped dramatically, from what has been a fairly consistent of between 50 and 60 per year to just 19.

Police theorise that this may be because there has been an upsurge in robberies involving weapons; a victim is less likely to resist an assailant if knives are being brandished. But even with that anomaly, few would dispute that violent crime rates have jumped in recent years, especially for robberies and attempted robberies.

What's to be done? The Police's Operation Safer Streets has been an excellent start, and, ironically, may see a surge in reported crime in the first quarter of this year and beyond – not necessarily because more crimes are being committed, but because more are being detected.

But in the long run, it should start to drive crime down as wrongdoers realise they can't get away with their crimes. That in itself is a deterrent.

Detention and rehabilitation are also critical. The PLP again made great play about how prison population levels have declined in recent years and claimed this was due to improved rehabilitation. That may well have had something to do with it, and this newspaper has always supported rehabilitation programmes.

But early parole has probably been as strong a contributor as well; few inmates serve a full term these days, many are released after serving just one third of their sentences and the recidivism rate has increased to 80 percent of offenders – again contrary to claims by the PLP before the election.

Government has said it plans to do more to help inmates make the transition from prison to "outside"; this needs to be a priority.

But it should also be recognised that there are some offenders for whom rehabilitation may never work, or for whom it has consistently failed. As a matter of public safety, inmates for whom there is little prospect of rehabilitation need to remain behind bars.

More broadly, and at the risk of causing death by repetition, reducing demand for illegal drugs is absolutely critical in reducing both crime and incarceration rates.

There is much in the latest drugs strategy that is worthwhile and Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler seems to be bound and determined to make it work this time. He and those spearheading the effort deserve the full support of the community.