Government was yesterday accused of being "soft on crime" - leading to an upsurge of unruly behaviour among the Island's youth.

United Bermuda Party (UBP) Senators said the ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) needed to get tough on illegal and violent acts, and said the warring gangs on Court Street on Tuesday night were a classic example of young thugs flaunting their bad behaviour.

Opposition Senator Leonard Santucci there was a time when gangs would fight during the early hours to escape the notice of Police.

However, on Tuesday, the fracas started in the afternoon and threatened to carry on for several hours, spreading to the St. Monica's Mission and Elliott Street areas.

Sen. Santucci said it was not necessarily the UBP that believed Government was soft on crime, but said the criminals themselves thought bad behaviour was given just a slap on the wrist.

"I can recall a day in time when people would engage in such criminal activities during the night," said Sen. Santucci.

"But it appears as if the perpetrators of these types of crimes feel they stand a better chance of getting away with it.

"The criminals are suggesting that the Progressive Labour Party is soft on crime. What disturbed me even more (on Tuesday) was that if this same Government could have just cleaned up Court Street, one or two blocks away from their headquarters?

"What happened last night took place in the vicinity of Alaska Hall (PLP HQ)."

And Sen. Santucci said he believed Tuesday night's gang warfare was a clear example of the defiance of Bermuda's young people and said people feared violent crime was on the increase.

But in his opening remarks Sen. David Burch said the statistics on crime showed that policing strategies had succeeded in reducing violence.

He said "recent examples" of violence were not appropriate to bring up.

He said: "Statistics do not support people going off hysterically because of recent events".

Sen. Burch denied recent Opposition criticism that the Police Service was undermanned, and said staffing levels had increased from 549 officers to 557. And he said with an additional $200,000, Government planned to expand CCTV to cover North Hamilton and the Court Street areas.

But Sen. Santucci added in his comments: "When you consider that the criminals are saying, and the perpetrators are saying, `they are soft on crime' so much so they are prepared to perpetrate their acts within the shadows of the symbol of the new Bermuda, I'm concerned."

Sen. Santucci asked how successful Government had been at eliminating drugs from the Island's prisons, and questioned how many foreign nationals in the jails had been allowed to complete their sentences in their home countries.

And Sen. Santucci said for Government to claim that the UBP had ignored social issues and concentrated only on business during its reign was re-writing history.

But Government Sen. Michael Scott said Government had done much to address the crime issue, and said it was trying to deal with the causes, primarily drug use, rather than simply lock people up.

He said Government had to send powerful signals into the community that it was not prepared to warehouse young black men, in particular, but was there to focus on particular needs.

And he said the truth was that violent crime was down, and Police statistics showed that.

He said: "That signal has been most powerfully displayed over this last four-year period and, in my view, it is having the desired affect of reducing the inclination towards violent behaviour.

"We don't have a magic wand."

And Sen. Scott said he believed the Police Service's Community Policing initiative, which aims to have officers working more closely with residents on particular issues, will eventually have a lasting effect.

He said he believed the community would grow to have greater trust for officers.

"The Progressive Labour Party has been tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime," he said.

Independent Sen. Walwyn Hughes said he believed fear of violent crime had risen and said it was probably down to the fact that different types of crimes were being committed now, compared to the past.

However, he said he believed Bermuda needed more high visibility Police presence.

He said: "I think the public do feel that seeing more uniformed Police would make them feel a little more comfortable."

And Sen. Hughes said if the figures suggested violent crime was down, then maybe the public should feel good about it.

However, he added: "But the trouble is that the public does not feel good about violent crime. Perhaps it's the nature of the violent crime we are now seeing.

"The Police have our sympathy and support. It's a very difficult situation. We have the public saying there is more violent crime and things are not as good as they used to be. It's probably because we are seeing things that we did not used to see and different types of aggression."

But Opposition Leader in the Senate, Sen. Kim Swan said it was the UBP's belief that Government was soft on crime.

And he said the Police Service needed greater manpower, including in St. George's and Somerset, and said officers regularly had to work seven days without a break, and sometimes had to begin work again with less than two days off.

"We need to have tougher sentences considered," said Sen. Swan.

"We need tougher measures to encourage people to be far more productive and to participate in the community. It's not good enough to say that in a country this small we are going to tolerate an 80 percent recidivism rate."

And he also said be believed the prisons were too soft, and that's why people did not mind returning to them so often. He said new programmes needed to be introduced to turn people around, and said Paget Island could be used to facilitate them.

Sen. Victoria Pearman accused the Opposition of contradicting itself over whether the UBP believed Government was soft on crime or not.