Bermudians need to stop being silent and speak up when they know about crime, Government backbenchers insisted on Friday.

Terry Lister told the House of Assembly he couldn't understand why more people weren't calling the confidential Crime Stoppers telephone number with information on the recent gun violence, which last weekend saw the murder of 30-year-old Kumi Harford.

"If I was afraid to go to court and be a witness, I don't know why I wouldn't pick up the phone and call that number which is going to be answered by someone in Florida. Why is it people don't pick up the phone after every incident and tell everything?"

He revealed that he was recently told by a man that there had been a shipment of 200 guns into Somerset. Mr. Lister said he reported it straight to the Police. "It's scary to think that 200 guns could come in."

The PLP MP said there had been enough meetings and talks about crime and that real action was needed. "I don't really want to talk," he said during the Motion to Adjourn debate. "I really want things to get done."

He said too many people were willing to support criminals because they deemed them to be "nice guys". He said one murder victim from the last three years was on Police's most wanted list and had been arrested six times.

"I can be a nice guy but I can be a bad criminal at the same time," said Mr. Lister.

His brother Dennis Lister, a fellow backbench PLP MP, spoke earlier on the same topic, referring to the fact that scores of people saw the recent double shooting at Southside but no one came forward as a witness.

"For too long we have all known about the drug activities that are taking place in our neighbourhoods and we have all sort of kept quiet about it."

He added: "We are saying now people should stand up and talk. We should have been talking all this time. Our silence has been for far too long. It's time for us to stop the silence."

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield quoted an African proverb: "Each one, reach one; each one, teach one."

She said it was up to everybody in the community to give guidance and support to those struggling, as she had done by teaching prisoners to read and write. She said plenty of young people were heading in the right direction. "I think we need to be a little more patient and hold onto hope."

Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons talked about drugs in prison, describing the Department of Corrections as having been "woefully inadequate" in tackling the problem.

Mr. Simons said: "I think it's time that the Home Affairs Minister is in this House so we can get some answers."

At that, Health Minister Walter Roban got to his feet and said that the Commissioner of Prisons took the issue very seriously and was tackling it.

Mr. Simons spoke about the need for parents to give proper guidance to young men and not have double standards in raising sons and daughters.

He said young men in Bermuda were too often told to go and sow their wild oats but that wasn't teaching them respect for themselves or for women.

Referring to golfer Tiger Woods' recent alleged infidelities, he said: "Is he setting an example for his son?"

UBP MP Charlie Swan suggested that crime had gone up significantly from when he was growing up in Bermuda. "The problems and issues we are facing today, to my mind, weren't always with us," he said.

"We didn't have people hiding in bushes, waiting to shoot somebody. We didn't have murders on the scale, many years ago, that we seem to have today."

Independent MP Darius Tucker said he had attended a recent presentation by US educator Steve Perry, who talked about youth violence, and was impressed.

But he added: "We all have a responsibility to bear. We bring a lot of people into this country to talk about a lot of things but I don't think we need anybody else to come to this country to talk to us. We are all intelligent. We know what to do."

• The confidential Crime Stoppers line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Telephone 800 8477 or log onto www.crimestoppers.bm.