The professionals seem to see the solution as more money, more studies — to do more of the same. The protection of society must be paramount. As such, professionals ought to focus on broader community approaches in dealing with the growing violent and random crimes now taking away the freedom and safety of our citizens. There are no "silver bullets" — new fads, or another treatment. It is the law-enforcement officers and local elected officials that are burdened with assuring the public's safety, but they can only do so much.

It took social conditions and several generations to create the youths and adults that now threaten our public safety. While there are limits to the impact we can have in preventing crime in a non-totalitarian society, violence is a societal problem, and one that belongs to all of us — the public and private institutions of our communities. In the end, it is about values and how committed we are to shoring up those institutions that created a civil society that once was the role model for the world. Let's start with the family.

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Utah native John Florez has founded several Hispanic civil rights organizations and has served on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch and on more than 45 state, local and volunteer boards. He also has been deputy assistant secretary of labor. E-mail: jdflorez@comcast.net