all Bermudians. While general crime figures are down, violence is a problem and a great deal of that violence is domestic. For far too long Bermuda has tended to ignore and even to accept domestic violence. Somehow it has been looked on by the public and the courts as less important than public violence.

Only in the last few years have we begun to accept that violence is violence no matter where it is committed.

One of the great strides the women of Bermuda have made is in their fight to convince the public that they are not objects to be battered by husbands and boyfriends and other men with whom they are familiar. But the truth is there is still a long way to go.

Commissioner Colin Coxall has been quoted as saying, "We still have difficulty with violence and I am very concerned about the level of violence in Bermuda.

"A lot of it is domestic violence. That is not necessarily a problem for the Police Service, but perhaps Bermudian society.'' The fact is that domestic violence is a social problem and the Police can do very little except respond after the violence is reported.

When Commissioner Coxall says it is perhaps a problem for Bermudian society he is, we think, saying that Police can do little about the causes of violence and can do little to prevent domestic violence before it occurs.

Let us make no mistake, the violence which is reported is only the "tip of the iceberg'' of the actual number of cases, most of which go unreported.

A man's home is not his castle in the sense that being in a domestic situation allows him to physically abuse the woman in the relationship. Too often that is taken to be the case. "Do not interfere'', "do not get involved'', "let them work it out themselves'' are attitudes which do not prevent violence.

They are also attitudes which allow domestic violence to blight the lives of any children involved and allow household violence to teach the children to accept violence and to be violent.

There are figures which show that alcohol or drugs, or both in combination, are a factor in some 80 percent of instances of domestic violence. They are one of the best reasons we can think of for strengthening the fight against the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Many people do things under the influence which they would never do while clean and sober.

But there are other factors in this whole problem. People who are financially pressed or unemployed will often resort to drugs and alcohol for relief and then people who are otherwise productive wind up violent. That must be recognised as a factor when we try to keep people gainfully employed.

Financial pressure brings out all kinds of aberrations in people.

Police are much more involved in the growing amount of criminal violence which arises from the drug trade. But, again, if we can reduce the demand for drugs we will reduce the supply and the criminality involved in supplying.

There is no easy solution nor will there ever be and the Police cannot do it all. The public has to become more involved in drugs and alcohol as a social problem.