In 1994, then Assistant Commissioner Wayne Perinchief pledged that the Bermuda Police service would have criminals "rocking on their heels''.

At that time, violent crimes were on the rise, and the Police were under pressure to act before Bermuda's tourism industry was damaged beyond repair.

Shortly after that the Police announced the war on crime was being won.

That was three years ago. Now, in 1997, things have changed. Mr. Perinchief and the Police Service have parted ways, and the war on crime is still ongoing.

While first quarter Police statistical reports comparing the rate of major crimes from 1994-97 seem to indicate crime is down, public concern over crime and violence on the streets of Bermuda appears to be increasing.

In an effort to discover the causes of crime and what can be done to combat it, The Royal Gazette interviewed three young men who discuss the various reasons leading to their lives of crime, their hopes of finding a better life and concern for younger generations who they "pray'' will have more opportunities than they feel they received.

Tony, 27, -- not his real name -- a young man who was released a year ago from Westgate Correctional Facility after serving a nine month-to-three year sentence for possession of stolen goods, is counting his day's `take'. As he is approached, he shuffles the money back into his pockets.

A broad guilty smile appears on his face, as he says hello. "Two hundred dollars...'', he comments, as he reaches back into his pocket to show the money. "You know how much of this is mine? Forty, $40. I make $5 on each bag of herb I sell. The other 20 goes to the person who owns the weed, but I'm doing all the work. People think if you are dealing drugs, you're automatically making big money, but it doesn't work like that when you're just doing a hustle for someone.'' Tony said that after getting out of prison he was determined to find a job and leave crime behind, but after what he claims was nearly six months of looking and being turned down or not being called back, he started feeling the pinch not having any money was causing.

"I have a son who is going on six, his mother and I are not together any more and she started threatening, talking about she was going to put me in court if I didn't start giving her money to help support our son. She was patient when I first got out, but now she doesn't even want hear it.

"I can understand where she is coming from -- that's my child -- but no-one would hire me, so what am I supposed to do? Let my son go without in order to satisfy people, would that make you happy? I don't want to be selling drugs, but I need money, point blank. It's not that I prefer this lifestyle; I'm just like anyone else. I have to survive.'' Black males discuss crime Mike, 29, a former drug dealer who served three years in prison for possession of cannabis, has a different point of view from Tony.

Now a construction worker for a local firm, Mike has been out of prison for four years and away from crime since his release.

He says the hurt he caused his mother and family when he was arrested and jailed was enough to help him make up his mind, while locked up, that once he got out he would turn his life around.

"I remember my mother's face in court the day I was sentenced,'' he said. "I could see the pain and stress the whole thing was causing her. I want to put a smile on my mother's face, I don't want to be the source of any more pain. I know where brothers are coming from. It's hard out here trying to make it, but you can't quit.

"The money I make working a week of construction, I used to make in a day selling, but in the end, what was it worth to me? I don't have any of the money I made in drugs, it's all gone. And I lost three years of my life. That part of my life is well behind me. Never again, I can't go backward I have to keep moving forward.'' Rob, at 19 the youngest of the three men The Royal Gazette interviewed, has never been locked up because he says he is careful not to get caught.

He claims to have committed just about conceivable crime from stealing bikes, to selling drugs, to breaking and entering.

Like Tony, he says crime for the moment pays, but unlike Tony he doesn't seem to think crime will be a part the rest of his life. He wants out but says he doesn't have the skills needed for the kind of job he wants.

Rob said he plans on finishing school in the US, but wants to save some money first.

He said: "I know all the things I'm doing seem wrong to people. But what is right and wrong in a country that shows no regard for whether or not her people, like, have a crumb? "Why should I have any respect for a corrupt system that has no respect for me, dun. If I have no job, or food or even a place to live, the Government will say so what? "But if I steal or sell drugs I get their attention enough for them to tell me, `that's wrong'.

"Well going hungry isn't wrong? Being homeless isn't wrong? Having no money and no where to turn isn't wrong? You tell me.'' In her report,"Black Experiences'' -- commissioned by the Home Affairs Ministry -- Eva Hodgson writes that many of the things black men do or have done in the past is regarded as a crime. She also stated in her report that many black men are treated like criminals, even when they have not committed a crime.

She writes: "It was evident from the interviews of those who were incarcerated, that some were just `sinners'. Some were filled with a rage and anger, that was frightening, even from a young age, that they themselves could not explain or understand. ..'' The report goes on to say: "Our prisons are not filled with 90 percent black males because we of African origin are a lower moral order, despite the propaganda and convictions of those with philosophy of racism -- be they black or white.'' "A corrupt and unjust society that promises justice, such as ours, is far more likely to produce criminal activity by individuals than is a just society, or even one that makes no pretence at justice as was true of Bermuda before Universal Franchise.

"Bermuda needs to address its contradictions. It talks of prosperity and denies it to many hard working black men. It talks of democracy and free speech then treats black men with a contempt that humiliates.

"It talks of coalitions and racial unity, then uses its power and wealth to create policies and practices that divides the black community.'' The report also said not all young black men who "wall sit'' are unemployed and that drug dealing and stealing bikes were not preferred alternatives to having a job. But it said both illegal activities were in some cases the only source of income, although not what was really desired.

Home Affairs Minister Mr. Quinton Edness said that while Dr. Hodgson's report delivered valuable insight into the thoughts of young black men, he said Dr.

Hodgson went too far in injecting her personal opinion into the report's findings.

He also said that although his department felt that a very good job was done by Dr. Hodgson, he would exclude some of her beliefs from the useful information attained in the report and use that to help develop programmes that would enhance the living conditions of young black men.

Mr. Edness also offered a word of advice to the young men interviewed: "I would like to get a message out to Tony and other young men who feel the way he does.

"And the message is this, he hasn't tried hard enough to remove himself from his situation. As proof I offer the second young man you spoke of who has left a life of crime behind and refuses to let himself get back into the kind of behaviour that led to his incarceration in the first place.

"I don't believe that he was determined enough. He may be counting his money now, but the end result is inevitable. He will either end up in jail, addicted to the drugs he is selling or worse, and thus crime and prison will be the cycle of his life. If he continues down this path, he will come to a point where he will not be able to turn his life around.

"Every bag of drugs that he sells is ruining a young Bermudians life. He is being used by a very greedy person who is only giving him $5 a bag, while that person is getting $20 and doing nothing.

"I also want to get the message out to the young men that are out in the workforce that there are plenty of young blacks who are not involved in criminal activity they are positive influences on the youth, and not enough is said about them. No matter what, it is better to air on the safe side and stay away from drugs and crime.'' Quinton Edness