For all the new laws Attorney General Kim Wilson has pushed through cracking down on criminals, she believes the root cause of Bermuda's social problems need just as much attention.

Sen. Wilson wants to push for mandatory assessments for children as young as two to identify those that need help before they develop into the gangsters of tomorrow.

And the Justice Minister, who is hoping to swap her seat in the Senate for one in the House of Assembly, believes MPs should be responsible for making sure all pillars of the community — churches, schools, local groups and Government — are pulling in the same direction.

"An MP's role is like an agent. They hear the concerns of the individuals like a counsellor and address them to the proper channels to have those issues met," she said.

Sen. Wilson says in her days as a Whitney Institute guidance counsellor she got to know troubled teenagers whom she then met 15 years later when she was a lawyer in the courts.

To stop them spiralling towards a life of crime, she says, children need to be assessed at a much younger age, so the red flags can go up and they can be monitored.

She believes schools should also concentrate on teaching life skills, while she would also like to see compulsory extra curriculum activity added to the end of the school day.

Sen. Wilson has risen rapidly through the Progressive Labour Party ranks, being appointed to the Senate by Premier Ewart Brown in November 2006 and made Attorney General and Justice Minister just over a year later.

Since then, she has been responsible for some high-profile pieces of legislation as Government has tried to get to grips with unprecedented levels of gun violence, with new laws targeting bad parents, protecting witnesses and giving Police power to hold gun crime suspects for up to 28 days.

But while she says Mirrors and other social rehabilitation programmes have been a success, she agrees with critics who claim Government needs to do more on social issues.

"We have to be tough on crime but equally on the causes of crime," she said.

"We recognise there are social ills that contribute to criminal behaviour. Teaching life skills in schools is very important. We can't assume everyone's going to get taught that at home. We have to make sure they are taught respect for the self.

"It could be something that's constantly reinforced. We need to encourage them to recognise there's consequences to their behaviour."

Sen. Wilson initially said she wanted to challenge for a seat in Sandys, where she lives, but has since vowed to make herself available for every vacancy that arises.

"I am confident that I will be able to bring the same level of commitment and vigour shown to the office of Attorney General, to the constitutes of number 26 in identifying and addressing the issues particular to their community," she said.

She commends the area's Rubber Tree Market, which she says represents the entrepreneurial spirit which will help the Country recover from the economic crisis.

But she says much of the issues facing Warwick South Central are mirrored across the rest of the Island, particularly the need to address social problems.

And she believes her experience as Justice Minister, a role she would like to keep in the House, stands her in good stead to make progress on behalf of Warwick residents and the rest of the Island.