ALL comments about violent offences in Jersey must be prefixed by the observation that serious crime is rare in our community.

Indeed, a great many cities and towns in the UK would be entirely happy if their crime rates were as low as ours.

But in spite of this, there are reasons to be concerned about recent trends in offending, particularly in respect of violent behaviour that is often fuelled by excessive drinking. The statistics speak for themselves – the incidence of serious assaults has increased by 17 per cent this year.

It is sometimes suggested that the media are responsible for increasing people’s fear of being victims of crime. Unfortunately, the 17 per cent figure is all too real and no figment of journalistic imaginations. In addition, recent cases involving extreme violence – one of which led to a victim losing an eye – were also all too real. Were the press and broadcasters supposed to ignore them?

It is, meanwhile, clear that the authorities are sitting up and taking notice. Routine policing obviously has a major part to play in combating street violence, but Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand has quite rightly decided that additional action is required.

He has therefore initiated and decided to lead a task force, to be called the Policing of St Helier Policy group, which will seek solutions to issues ranging from littering at one end of the scale to violent crime and disorder at the other.

The new group is likely to involve, among others, Assistant Home Affairs Minister Jackie Hilton, who has expressed special concern about street crime, and St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, who has an excellent record for solving the town’s problems.

There will be no representative of the courts in the group – which is appropriate, given that the courts must be independent and impartial – but that part of the legal system undoubtedly has an important role to play in the battle against violence. When offenders are convicted of behaviour that is far beyond the pale, appropriately harsh sentences must be imposed.

It is at one level important that the guilty are compelled to recognise the error of their ways. At another it is even more important that a message of deterrence is broadcast to others who might, in the absence of that message, lose control and run riot.