Crime continues to be an issue of grave concern in Bermuda. A number of recent incidents, including the sexual assault of an elderly woman in her home and the vicious, and very public murder of a young Bermudian mother, have made everyone in Bermuda feel insecure in the face of what they feel is an increase in violent crime.

Here in the town of St. George's, the reality of unruly behaviour in areas such as Duke of Clarence Street is having an adverse effect on the neighbourhood, and the violence is intimidating area residents and giving St. George's a bad reputation. And regular reports of gang violence late at night in Hamilton do little to reassure a nervous public that crime is under control.

There is nowhere to hide on our tiny island, and crime affects all Bermudians, whether they are direct victims or not. So what's going on here?Measuring Police PerformanceIt's not easy to measure Police performance. Although the Commissioner or his Deputy tell the public regularly that their figures show crime is down, none of these statistics make their way through to the Government's Statistics Department to be analysed and published, as they used to be. In fact, the most basic Police statistics on crime have not found their way into the public domain for some time, and in the interest of transparency, it is essential that the public get the information for consideration.

For decades, Bermudians were able to turn to the annually produced Digest of Statistics and find such useful information as the number of offences reported, the number of people convicted, the age and sex of offenders and how they were dealt with. But this information is no longer available to the public, and we are not able to make an assessment based on a consistent set of statistics accumulated over time. Has the Police Service stopped providing such figures to the Statistics Department? The only figures given for the years 1997 and 1998 were the total number of offences reported and a breakdown of how many of those were offences against property and how many offences against people. For 1999, they only disclosed the total number of offences, but not the breakdown.

A return to the collection and distribution of Police crime statistics to the public through the Statistics Department would add a measure of reporting transparency and accountability that is desperately needed.Changing Procedures to Improve Performance — Get on with It!The Tumim Report recommended two particular changes in Police procedures that would improve their ability to fight crime. The first was to improve the standard police identification lineup. The second was to tape all police interrogations, in order to create a reliable record of the questioning that might produce evidence of guilt and to reinforce acceptable standards of Police conduct. The Police indicated they were pursuing these measures, and more recently the Commission of Inquiry into Serious Crime confirmed the importance of these changes.

Unfortunately, these measures don't appear to have progressed much farther than the drawing board. Little action seems to have been taken to reform police lineup procedures, and little action seems to have been taken to record police interrogations. Another vital improvement in the way the Police conduct their business was the creation of the Police Complaints Authority. Again, this was a move encouraged by the Tumim Commission and everyone else who has had occasion to comment officially on the running of the Service. The last two Police Commissioners supported the idea, as did the former UBP Government, which took steps to put it into effect.

Despite the fact that the Police Complaints Authority was signed into law in 1998, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman have recently resigned in frustration, saying the PLP Government is dragging its heels on making legislative changes that would allow them to act effectively. This situation must be corrected quickly.Who's Responsible?The PLP Government must shoulder blame for its inaction and poor handling of numerous issues pertaining to policing in Bermuda during its tenure. For example, the extended time it took for the PLP Government to eventually hire Police officers from overseas left the Service undermanned and hampered efforts by the Police to put necessary initiatives into place.

The bizarre series of events surrounding the on-again, off-again St. George's Police Station not only injured the Government's credibility but also the Premier's, as she contradicted both her Cabinet Ministers and the Police Commissioner. In fact, the Premier's attempt to rewrite these events calls into question her own trustworthiness. And even today, no one knows exactly what is happening with the St. George's Police Station.

Meanwhile, many people in our community feel that the "softly, softly" approach of the PLP Government to crime is wearing thin and that we are headed in the wrong direction. In recent weeks we have noticed the following:

[bul] A US State Department alert appears on their website warning visitors about date-rape crime in Bermuda and to exercise caution in the town of St. George's.

[bul] Many Bermudian women want to carry protective sprays.

[bul] A Senior Magistrate calls for greater ability to sentence youth gang offenders immediately, rather than wait for an eight-week social inquiry report.

[bul] Yet another vigil is held for victims of violence, particularly women and children.

What we have not heard is a strong PLP voice regarding crime. In fact, just before the 1998 election, Alex Scott, who was then Opposition spokesperson for Police, said that the PLP would reduce crime by locking up a small nucleus of criminals and rehabilitating them and by providing opportunities to young Bermudians that would make a life of crime less attractive. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Since 1998, we have seen an increase in the number of criminals incarcerated at Westgate.

I believe that a better balance must be found in Bermuda's approach to crime, a better balance between rehabilitation and punishment, between the rights of offenders and the rights of victims. The UBP supports Alternatives to Incarceration — ATI and the Drugs Court were developed from UBP Government initiatives in the late 90s — but we know it won't work unless the Drugs Court and other support programmes are properly funded, staffed and managed. Right now, the Drugs Court doesn't have adequate assessment capabilities.

The Police need to get on with better policing procedures that have already been identified, and the public shouldn't accept excuses for inaction from the PLP Government. Right now, the Government should be explaining how it intends to prevent serious Police understaffing as many three-year contracts for non-Bermudian police officers expire soon.

And the community must remember that both the perpetrators and victims of crime are our relatives and neighbours, and it is our collective duty to help reduce crime. That means fully cooperating with the Police and taking responsibility for our children.

Senator Kim Swan is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.