Bermuda needs some hard data on the factors causing youngsters to go off the rails, says Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith.

He told the public meeting on ?Effective Strategies for the Development of Boys in Bermuda? that violence had exploded since the 1970s.

?There?s definitely a shift in behaviour and attitude, there?s clearly more evidence of violence in schools, there?s evidence of a lot more young people involved in criminality, whether it?s gangs, drugs or violence,? he said.

General recommendations could be made based on research in other countries, but he said there was a lack of local data.

?We need to know exactly what the problem is. There is a real lack of research.

?We are really making recommendations based on anecdotal evidence which may not be accurate.?

With that caveat he said key factors which could send youngsters the wrong way included lack of economic opportunity, poor parenting, a history of criminality in the family and behavioural problems surfacing in schoolchildren between the ages of eight and ten.

Early intervention at that critical age could help ease the problem, said Mr. Smith.

He said Police were active in reaching out to the youth by helping with sports, running cadet programmes and Outward Bound courses and by having a uniformed police officer on CedarBridge campus which was bringing positive results.

Fellow panellist and youth activist Gary Monroe said problems were caused by a lack of Godliness.

?Wherever man is out of the presence of God there chaos and confusion.?

Home School principal Stanford Bradshaw said parents really needed to listen to their children and not just spout an idealised version of what happened in their day.

Parents should also be big enough to admit they were wrong in order to avoid passing on bad habits to their offspring said Mr. Monroe.

But he said children needed to know that as long as they had the privilege of living in the family home then they had to obey the rules.

Sandys Middle School Principal Melvyn Bassett said a good school experience was vital in getting children on the right road.

But he said standardised learning left many children out in the cold.

?We recognise we all learn differently but in spite of that we do little or nothing about it.?

Some people are visual learners, others can simply listen while some need hands on contact to reinforce the message.

His school is looking at new models of teaching to capitalise on students? strengths.

This view was backed up by a Berkeley school teacher in the audience who said schools needed to re-establish links with the trades for those not into academic schooling.