Crime may be down in Bermuda, but Opposition candidate Jeff Baron believes its “the totality of crime today and the extreme violence that Bermudians find intolerable”.The One Bermuda Alliance spokesman for National Security was responding to second quarter crime statistics released by the Bermuda Police Service last week.The figures painted a “mixed picture” in his view, “that cannot be used to show there is a long term change in crime in either direction”.Mr Baron said: “It is tempting to engage in another semantic tangle with the Government over Police statistics. It happens every quarter when Police release crime data.”While noting that crime was down 10.7 percent in April, May and June compared to the first three months of the year, the 10.7 reduction still means that 1,038 crimes were committed in that time frame.“That figure includes burglaries, assaults, firearms offences, sexual assault, and as we all know, a daytime murder in a popular barbershop,” said Mr Baron.“Crimes against the person — from sexual assaults and serious assaults to robberies — were down 8.6 percent, but that still meant 170 people in our community were attacked from May to the end of June.“But instead of engaging in a claim, counter-claim battle over the latest statistics, I propose we look at a much broader approach to the use of Police information that can activate the relationship between crimes reported and the public,” he said.“We want all residents in Bermuda to have accurate and clear crime data that is easy to access and understand.“To achieve that, the Bermuda Police Service should implement and publicise street-level ‘crime maps’ showing all crimes reported and their outcomes. These crime maps should be updated each month instead of each quarter.“It is in Bermuda’s interest that we monitor crime in a way that is clear, meaningful and in which people can have confidence. That is why it is time for us to move forward with crime mapping and improve the way in which crimes are tracked and shared with the public.“Crime mapping has been used successfully by the Home Office since its initial launch in January, 2011,” said Mr Baron. He noted that the crime-mapping website, www.police.uk was developed to provide public access to key crime and policing information “in a way that allows them to raise issues or take an active role in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour”.The system works by typing in a postcode to find out what crime or antisocial behaviour has been committed in that neighbourhood and how a crime has been dealt with by the police or the courts.Mr Baron said: “Six months after its launch, the website has 420 million hits showing and feeding a huge appetite for information on crime and what happened to a perpetrator.“Crime mapping empowers the public to seek answers to the questions which matter to them most,” he said. “This level of public scrutiny and accountability can act as a strong impetus to operating an even more effective service delivery.”Now he’s calling for a similar system to be implemented here to be readily available “to anyone with internet access” to the “monthly publication of reported crimes and the outcomes of crime” in Bermuda.This will increase “public trust” and make the service “ more accountable to the community it serves” in his view.“Government needs to move toward greater transparency and accountability in the entire criminal justice system,” said Mr Baron. “The BPS now looks beyond the work of crime analysts — seeking input from residents for their targets and policing priorities.“Crime maps, along with daily access to interactive crime reports and outcomes, will help the public hold the Government, the BPS and other partnerships accountable,” he said.“Looking at solutions, like crime mapping, makes our community better informed and engaged. And, as Bermuda can appreciate, an engaged and empowered community is the key to public safety across the Island.”