Cabinet Ministers are expected to receive recommendations on solving Bermuda's violence problems next month.

Public Safety Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness yesterday told The Royal Gazette he had seen two drafts of a report on ideas that came out of "Blow the Whistle on Violence'' conference held in February.

And he applauded the committee that was responsible for putting the report together.

Mr. Edness said critics should realise that the committee members were working on the report during any spare time they had, including lunch hours and late nights.

"They undertook to write a very extensive report,'' he said, adding that the committee members were completing the report and it was expected to go to Cabinet in two to three weeks.

"I applaud them (committee members) because I know they were all volunteers.

They had to re-do it and re-do it,'' he said. "I don't blame that committee for taking their time and doing it right.'' Mr. Edness' comments came on the heels of public criticism that Government was dragging its feet on implementing the anti-violence recommendations.

The recommendations came from educators, social workers, medical professionals, Police officers, parents, students and others who attended the five-day conference at the Number One Shed on Front Street.

Among their suggestions for stopping community violence were: Getting a clear definition of violence by a roundtable discussion or survey; Placing a five percent tax on cigarettes and alcohol, with the revenue specifically for funding violence education programmes; Decentralising Social Services and having social services agencies in each parish; Implementing mandatory treatment for offenders; Creating residential rehabilitation centres; Setting up community centres in each parish; Re-establishing trade schools; and Putting "multicultural'' education in schools.

Two groups faced with the task of coming up with solutions to domestic violence suggested: Adopting the Massachusetts Quincy model to suit Bermuda which would include changing legislation to make reporting abuse cases mandatory; Educating the community and retraining Police to help deal with domestic violence; Setting up a media campaign against domestic violence; Creating counselling programmes for batterers and their victims; and Setting up a task force on families in crises and the "black experience'' in Bermuda.

Two groups studying youth violence produced more than 50 recommendations including: Expanding Teen Services to include "the door'' concept which would enable troubled youngsters to have a place of refuge; Introducing legislation for "drug-free zones''; Hiring more psychiatrists and truant officers; Abolishing corporal punishment; Putting metal detectors in schools; Setting a curfew for youngsters under 16; Creating a youth corps; and Setting up a task force on youth violence.

Yesterday, Mr. Edness noted that some of the recommendations will be easier to implement than others.

Those requiring just a change in legislation would not be difficult to introduce, he said.

But those requiring the implementation of programmes -- such as the Quincy model which gives Police the power to prosecute batterers regardless of what the victim says and to put batterers who breach restraining orders immediately in jail -- will be more difficult to accomplish because they will require several Government departments and private agencies to work together.

"It is always difficult to work with programmes because they always require resources,'' Mr. Edness said.

However, he stressed that Government was "rather excited'' about the "Blow The Whistle on Violence'' conference.

"We will certainly do all that we can to implement the recommendations, especially those dealing with violence against women and children,'' he said.

Mr. Edness also noted that the draft report contained some "innovative'' suggestions that could be introduced with just a change of legislation.

For instance, he said, one of the Island's major problems is the increasing number of single-parented families which led to an increase in troubled youngsters.

And he pointed out that such families mainly came about through children being born, mainly to teens, out of wedlock and through the Island's high divorce rate.

"There were recommendations that we amend the marriage law so that two parties would have to go through two months of marriage counselling before they publish their bands to marry,'' Mr. Edness said. "And I understand that this has worked in Florida.'' Mandatory counselling for couples considering divorce was also suggested, he added.

And while Mr. Edness noted that the law already suggested such counselling, he said it was not being enforced.

"Those are the recommendations that I think the Country needs to look at seriously to help the situation,'' he stressed.