No parent should ever have to bury their children. Yet this is the painful responsibility of my cousin, Kaywell and her husband Malcolm, as they make funeral arrangements for their son Malcolm Outerbridge, Bermuda’s latest murder victim.The predictable news formula of reporting on the death, assessing the police response and then reflecting on the life of the victim is perhaps as obligatory as it is informative. For their part, I am convinced the police officers investigating such crimes are committed to bringing the offenders to justice and are working diligently in that pursuit. If we are to create long term solutions to the problem of violent crime in our community, though, I believe we need to make a demonstrable shift in our focus on policing to crime prevention. This will save the lives of more young Bermudian men.Simple measures such as police officers actually walking the streets rather than sitting in vehicles parked on Front Street and the installation of more and better cameras are a start. But more substantive measures include using the robust intelligence already gathered by the police service to disrupt, fragment and weaken the gangs of criminals largely responsible for the slate of murders besetting our country. Such activity may not lead to criminal charges but it would make it more difficult for criminals to act at will, as they seem to be doing currently. From a public perspective the reduction in violence would be welcomed news indeed.With approximately 400 police officers on this small island there is no plausible reason why there cannot be a strong presence from Dockyard to St David’s Lighthouse on an ongoing basis. And in the well-known trouble areas there needs to be a vigorous and sustained police presence. A visible contingent of even 50 police officers would make a significant impact. Something clearly is missing here.I am intrigued that UK Prime Minister David Cameron, just a few months ago, sought the advice of an American former chief of police who successfully implemented anti-gang activities, to assist with his government’s efforts in this area. When former Premier Ewart Brown sought to do something similar in Bermuda, our Governor overruled him. Had we secured this US assistance at that time we may well have been on our way to making real progress in reducing the violence afflicting us today.As the person in control of the Bermuda Police Service, notwithstanding any areas of delegated powers, I hold Governor Gozney responsible for the current failure of the police to adequately serve and protect the residents of our small community. Fiscal responsibility is critical, but not the governor’s constitutional responsibility. Maintaining close ties with the business community can certainly be beneficial all around, but again, certainly not a constitutional responsibility. Running the police service is the governor’s constitutional responsibility and I expect to see this taken with the seriousness it requires. To date this is not readily apparent. Governor Gozney needs to demonstrate the leadership required to position the Bermuda Police Service as a more effective force for law and order. It is simply not good enough to improve the arrest and conviction rate; the public would be better off if the crimes did not occur in the first place. We need to move decisively toward the preventative side of policing.Every murder leads to more reflection and a level of anger. We must demand, collectively, that more be done and we must hold those responsible accountable: the perpetrators of crime and those who job it is to stop them.Walton Brown is a social and political commentator andan approved Progressive Labour Party canddiate for the House of Assembly. Follow his blog on www.respicefinem1.blogspot.com. He can be contacted at walton[AT]researchmix.com