prostitutes are flown in for the night -- it's all closer to home than you think.

In the last 18 months, Police have seen a surge in prostitution on Bermuda's streets, from the back of town to Front Street.

And the world's oldest profession is already snaring the Island's teenage girls, some as young as 13.

"I've seen the problem get noticeably worse,'' Narcotics Chief Insp. Norrell Hull said.

On "any given Saturday'', he said, up to a dozen prostitutes of all ages could be seen waiting outside city night spots, including those on Front Street, to ply their trade.

"It's very open,'' he said. "They'll perform oral sex with you in any alley.

They're out there. You can't miss them. They have all the traits of a prostitute.'' But Ch. Insp. Hull warned, "We have not closed our eyes to it.'' However, the Police Force may have a tough time tackling prostitution in Bermuda.

Private investigator Mr. Alistair (Angus) Brown believed what he termed "juvenile prostitution'' to be at an already alarming level. The former Policeman had heard of a girl as young as 12 being involved.

"Juvenile prostitution has mushroomed in the last 12 months,'' he said. "And the most sinister part of the problem is AIDS. These girls are on the front line of being exposed to AIDS, which has already pervaded every strata of society. I believe the situation is more serious than ever in Bermuda.'' Former nightclub manager and veteran on the local entertainment scene, Mr. Al Eastmond claimed the problem would only get worse because a growing number of teenagers "were leaving school with nothing to do''.

"A certain percentage are ready to be lured in,'' said Mr. Eastmond, who has also noticed more teenagers "cruising'' outside the nightclubs.

"The guys turn to robbery, the girls go to prostitution. They have no other choice. They can't find jobs ...and you have to realise what a big step that is for Bermudian women. They are very proud and most come from a Christian upbringing.'' Mr. Eastmond was the manager of the nightclub Scandal, which last year was fined for putting on an "indecent'' show featuring a raunchy act by American strippers.

As long as there were people interested in hiring prostitutes, he said, the illegal trade would be difficult to stamp out.

He added hookers were "part of the beat of the city''.

Ch. Insp. Hull conceded there were so many young women getting involved in prostitution that the "seasoned'' prostitutes were fearing for their livelihood.

"They fear they'll be pushed or run out of the market by these young girls,'' he said.

Head of the Police Community and Juvenile Department Insp. Gertrude Barker believed that at first it was materialistic greed -- not drugs -- that caused teenage girls to offer sexual favours for money.

Furthermore, she said, her department had information that such behaviour was beginning in high school.

"We've heard stories of older men or boyfriends going to schoolgirls and giving them money for sex, but nothing confirmed,'' said Sgt. Sharman Markers of the Community and Juvenile Department. "The girls also go with older guys because of the money factor. But I wouldn't call it prostitution.'' Insp. Barker added the girls became comfortable with the idea of sex for money and "then they're out on the street''.

"I truly believe we have a real problem with our teenage girls,'' she said.

"There's a lot of young girls out there prostituting -- some as young as 13.

They're greedy -- they like nice things. We are a very materialistic society.'' Men preferred the younger prostitutes because they thought there was less likelihood they had AIDS, she said.

However, she noted, she knew of one case where a man with AIDS infected a prostitute.

Mr. Brown believed that even if it was money that pushed some teenage girls into selling themselves, drugs were normally involved.

Sex for sale teens From Page 1 It was his information that juvenile prostitution often started with girls running away from school or home. They found their way onto the streets and "drifted'' into drug use. "I can't see them doing it purely voluntarily,'' he said.

He added it was his guess the older "full-time'' prostitutes numbered about 20.

According to Ch. Insp. Hull, not all of them looked hardened by drug and alcohol abuse and life on the street.

"They are some of Bermuda's most beautiful girls -- and from good families,'' he said.

Most do it for "a quick deck of coke or some weed'', he said, but some do it just for the money.

He added: "You'd be surprised who uses them -- blue collar and white collar people.'' There were also "closet prostitutes'', Ch. Insp. Hull said. They were sophisticated, well-dressed and didn't want people knowing they were in the business of offering sex for money.

The increase in the illegal trade had also led to a growing number of pimps, and what Ch. Insp. Hull called "sexual entrepreneurs'', who fly in prostitutes, set them up in apartments or suites and throw parties for "select clients'', usually businessmen.

He did not want to elaborate, because Police were following some leads in that regard.

Few arrests for prostitution had been made, he said, because it was a hard charge to prove and involved many hours of watching and waiting.

And because of the Island's size, Policemen were often known to the prostitutes.

There have been some arrests of pimps, though none recently.

In the last few years in Bermuda, only two women have appeared in Magistrates' Court and admitted "soliciting for immoral purposes''.

One incident occurred on the grounds of Dellwood Primary School with a 26-year-old woman charging a cruise ship worker $20 for sex.

The other incident also occurred in Hamilton, in the backyard of a house on King Street. The woman was 32 and also charged $20 for the act.

Even fewer court appearances for prostitution occurred in the 1980s. Among the defendants was a woman now living in the AIDS hospice who was arrested on Court Street in early 1985 at the age of 28 for offering two undercover Policemen sex for money.

Ch. Insp. Hull blames the rise in prostitution ultimately on "broken families'' and "easy availability of drugs'' in Bermuda.

"It's not just a Police problem,'' he said.

The cruise ships, he said, were a double dose of trouble.

"A lot of the employees of these ships are the prostitutes' customers,'' he said.

Crew members were also getting to know locals on their regular visits to Bermuda, "making contacts'', and bringing in more drugs on a more frequent basis.

"A lot of them are manual workers who want nice watches and clothes,'' he said. "So rather than doing what they were hired to do they are moving out of their portfolios to make more money.''