IT is sometimes pointed out that the streets of St Helier are safer than those in some parts of the UK. That may be so, but it is a complacent view which, as far as the public-order problems and violence now routinely witnessed in Jersey’s capital are concerned, misses a point which the Island authorities must now set about making more forcefully and effectively.

The point is that this is not the UK. As a community, we neither wish nor intend to accept the lowering of standards which has turned some UK town centres into no-go areas after dark, thanks to a combination of deference to the alcohol industry, political correctness, lenient sentencing for crimes of violence and unquestioning tolerance of the tawdry, low-level hooliganism that now routinely passes for British street life.

Jersey deserves something better. In a small, stable and prosperous community such as ours there is little excuse for the application of anything less than zero tolerance for any level of criminal activity in public places. The quality of life for all Islanders and our visitors depends on it.

Throughout this week the Jersey Evening Post will be looking at the growing problems of public disorder and street violence in the Island and examining what can be done to control it. A series of articles will also highlight the disastrous personal consequences that can stem from acts of violence, which often ruin the lives not only of victims but also of perpetrators.

It may be overstating the level of concern to suggest that drunkenness, street violence and generally anti-social behaviour are out of control here, but few would deny that this spectrum of social ills is, even on a limited scale, utterly unacceptable.

The police are often criticised for failing to patrol at an intensity guaranteed to deter public-order offences or ensure that culprits are caught. There is some truth in that, but their higher visibility, while necessary, is only part of the solution and we are never likely to see a situation in which there are so many officers – uniformed and honorary – on the beat that street crime is, at a stroke, stamped out.

It is more realistic to envisage a wide range of measures that each play a part in making town and our other urban areas safer and more congenial than is at present the case. Closed-circuit television surveillance clearly has a part to play – not least because a realistic prospect of the guilty being brought to book will always act as a major deterrent. That said, what happens to offenders after arrest is also of vital importance. Punishments that fit the crime are demanded by law-abiding Islanders and, in addition, have the practical effect of warning off those inclined to transgress.

Fortunately, both the Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand, and the Bailiff, Michael Birt, have made it abundantly clear that enough is enough in respect of violence and disorder. It is within their powers to see that the guilty face a species of justice that is commensurate with their disregard for the right of the ordinary man in the street to enjoy peace and security.