Last week saw the conviction in the Supreme Court of Cervio Cox on a charge of being an accomplice to the triple shooting on Court Street last May 23, allegedly perpetrated by members of the 42 gang.

This week saw two people charged in separate murders, although it is important to note that they have not yet been committed to trial in Supreme Court and the presumption of innocence prevails.

This week, Public Safety Minister David Burch announced that his Ministry was backing an initiative by Spanish Town Entertainment to hold "Sounds of Sanctuary" events in neighbourhoods most affected by gun crime.

And on Friday, Government backbencher Randy Horton appeared to get wide support for his proposed motion to form a joint select committee to examine gangs and gun crime.

What do these events have in common? They show that witnesses are coming forward to provide evidence, that the Police are beginning to get results and that convictions are occurring.

In Parliament, there now seems to be a genuine bipartisan effort to end the crime wave without political point-scoring.

And on the streets, the support being given to grassroots groups like Spanish Town, activist Gina Spence and Rise Above, Bermuda, shows that the community is coming together to grapple with this problem.

This should give some hope to all and there's reason now to feel more optimistic than there has been for some time.

But it is also important not to declare victory prematurely. It is quite possible that there will be more shootings, and it is also likely that the Police will still have a frustrating time solving some gun crimes.

This problem did not rise up overnight, and it won't go away overnight, either.

This is where community groups are critical, and it also shows that efforts to coordinate the efforts of Government and civil groups to help offenders released from prison to find work and to stay out of crime are vital. If not, the cycle will continue.

In the longer term, the proposed joint select committee, or a similar body, needs to conduct an honest, open and rigorous examination to determine how crime increased. There is no room for woolly generalities here. And, as Deputy Premier Paula Cox said last week, such a committee needs to present tangible solutions that can be acted upon. The worst possible thing would be for such a committee to present a report which then goes nowhere.

John Barritt talks about some of the means by which such a committee can call witnesses and conduct hearings, and it should not limit its investigation to Bermuda. While the many of the solutions to the problem reside here, and the problem has a Bermudian flavour, much of this is not unique to Bermuda, and we should learn from the experiences of other communities in finding answers.

But a critical first step is being taken, simply because the community is now putting ego aside and working together. Long may it continue.