The recent shooting at the Spinning Wheel nightclub bought home to most people how serious Bermuda's crime problem is, but as the murder trial of Anthony Flood showed, it was far from the first incident of brutal, uncaring violence.

Similarly, crimes against residents and visitors are on the rise, both in incidence and in the level of violence to which people are prepared to go.

At the same time, in a place as small as Bermuda, a spate of crimes and violent acts can set off a holocaust of rumours and gossip which may make the situation seem far worse than it really is.

This is what seems to have been happening recently. Without downgrading the guns problem, recent claims that a shipment of 1,000 weapons had arrived on the Island are far-fetched. Scaremongering does nothing to solve the problem.

Similarly a spate of break-ins does not necessarily mean that dozens of burglars are roving the streets and neighbourhoods at night. More often than not, a "crime wave'' can be the result of one person's handiwork.

The vast majority of Bermudians are good, law abiding, hardworking and honest people who are trying to make their way through life as best they can.

This is true too of the young -- who seem to be collectively taking the brunt of the blame for the Island's problems.

The vast majority of Bermuda's young -- like the vast majority of Bermuda's population -- are hard working, bright, normally law-abiding people who are trying to get ahead with their lives.

More than half the young will go on to some form of higher learning and will return to the Island ready to work hard in pursuit of good jobs and the chance to lead productive lives.

But a small minority of people are committing crimes which are becoming more dangerous and which are placing the safety and livelihoods of the rest of the community at risk.

A tiny minority are causing the rest of the Island to live in fear, unsure of whether their homes and families are safe and whether they can go out at night.

Crimnals thrive on this fear. It leaves the streets free for them to commit offences at will.

Bermudians have to leave that fear behind and come together to show perpetrators of crime that they will not put up with it. In the past, there have been efforts to push criminals and drug dealers out of neighbourhoods.

Now everyone has to work together -- and with the Police who must be a part of the community -- to turn in those who are breaking the law and make the Island safe.