Minister for Labour and Home Affairs Terry Lister yesterday said he would be urging judges to hand out minimum nine-month sentences to people convicted of violent offences to ensure they completed treatment programmes.

The Minister said nobody could realistically be expected to be rehabilitated for anger management or other tendencies during just a three or four-month sentence. He said he would be meeting with Chief Justice Austin Ward in the near future to ask that where violent offences have been committed, mandatory counselling and treatment be prescribed by judges, along with suitable sentences of at least nine months.

And he said legislation was now in place so that where mandatory programmes are prescribed, offenders must complete the programmes or face losing any chance of parole.

However, he said, too often judges and Magistrates failed to hand down counselling when passing sentence.

"The judges have the authority to request mandatory counselling, but they don't do it often enough," said Mr. Lister.

"We will urge the courts, through the Chief Justice, to ensure that all people convicted of domestic violence, and other violent offences, are required to do this counselling.

"And where the offence warrants incarceration, we are asking the judges to make the incarceration (long enough) so that we are able to make the change management."

He said being sent to prison for three months did not accomplish anything.

Mr. Lister added: "They need to be in for nine months minimum. If any treatment is going to work, we need to have the time."

Mr. Lister made the comments as he joined the March Against Violence around the streets of Hamilton yesterday lunch time.

The demonstration had been organised by The Women's Resource Centre, The Physical Abuse Centre and the Coalition for the Protection of Children to raise awareness about growing violence on the Island, and to lobby for legislative changes.

The groups want a specially trained Police response team to be set up to deal with domestic abuse, and for changes to be made to the law to enable Police to prosecute violent offenders when victims are too afraid to press charges.

Chairman of the Women's Resource Centre Penny Dill said she believed Mr. Lister's comments could lead to improvements in the way people were sentenced, and said they were a step in the right direction.

However, she said it must be made clear that nine months would not be long enough for some offenders.

"Nine months would be fine for a case of domestic violence because the counselling takes nine months, but there are other types of violence where the counselling takes much longer, maybe two years," said Ms Dill.

"The sentences should take that into account. However, there are also other things to take into consideration.

"Has the person committed a similar crime before, was there an offensive weapon used, and was there injury caused?

"Nine months would work if it was a first offence of domestic violence and there was no injury and no weapon. It has to be minimum nine months, so that longer sentences can be given where warranted."

Mr. Lister said he would have to look into the suggestion with some detail that Police be able to prosecute in the absence of a complaint because he was not sure they should prosecute every case.

But he gave an assurance that he would consult with the Police and agencies on the matter, as well as look at how the issue was handled in other countries.

He said: "That is something we are going to have to look at in real detail. I do get upset sometimes when there are cases that appear to be very bad, but the victim says `no, we are ok'."

But the Minister said he fully supported the idea of a specific team being set up to deal with the problem of domestic violence.

He said: "Now that is something we should do - set up a response team. I would support that."

However, Mr. Lister said he did not believe instances of violence were on the increase, but he agreed that the perception was out there in Bermuda.

"Violence is not on the increase, fortunately, however, there is a perception because we like to look at these cases on a daily basis.

"I have asked the Police Commissioner to continue with his quarterly press conferences because it gives us the opportunity to show what the numbers (crimes) really are."