Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister last night said a `softly, softly' approach needed to be taken with the thugs who are causing mayhem in St. George's so that Police can understand their problems.

He said traditional methods of just locking up the hooligans would not work, because they would not address the underlying reasons why they are offending.

Mr. Lister confirmed that Government would not bow to demands from concerned residents in the Old Town that the existing Police station remain there, and he reiterated that a new full-time station to serve St. George's will be built at Southside.

St. George's has been beset with violence in the past week, including the firebombing of two cars and an attempt to petrol-bomb a Police car.

Mr. Lister told The Royal Gazette last night that throughout the week, he and Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith had discussed the mounting disorder in St. George's.

He said: "The number one key, we both believe, is that community policing is the way forward and we will be relying on community beat officers to get involved with the community. We have a group of young people in particular that seem to be at the centre of activities there. We want to know who they are, are they working and contributing to the community, and if not, what is the difficulty. What objections do they have to being a positive part of the community? Using traditional policing methods, you can arrest people, take them to court, send them to jail, but that's not going to solve these problems. We need to have a broader, multi-faceted approach and realise the old way wasn't working in St. George's because these issues have been going on for some time. "The community beat officers are going to identify the problems and work with social services and the professional care givers to try to identify ways and means of fixing the problems they are encountering.

"It is not a fix by arresting people and putting them in jail. You may identify ten young men who are involved because they don't have jobs.

"With the situation in Bermuda, they should have jobs. It could be they have no skill sets and need job training and can't motivate themselves to get there."

Mr. Lister said a community team of four or five trained officers was in place in Sandys and some were earmarked for the East End.

"The aim was to have these teams in place all over the Island.

He said there would be a limited Police station left in the Old Town when the new station opens in Southside, which he hopes will be up and running by the end of the year.

Rejecting calls for the existing St. George's station to be maintained, he said: "There is a difference between removing the Police station and removing the Police presence.

"We will create a wonderful, purpose-built station at Southside and continue to have a Police presence in St. George's. It won't be a full-scale Police station, but there will be a presence.

"Beyond that, we would like the community beat officers to do the real Policing, and it is vital that they are out and about in the community.

"We don't want to have a Police station in St. George's where people are sitting behind their desks on computers, but we want men and women assigned to St. George's in and among the young people and the problems."

Mr. Lister said that while St. George's residents might complain that it is a seven minute drive from Southside to the Old Town, Flatts residents have to deal with being Policed from the Old Town, which was much further away.

He said he was hopeful that the arrests made this week, including two 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old, will lead to a quiet weekend.

"I would like to think that the events that have taken place and the arrests that have been made will quieten things down.

The arrests will hopefully lead to some members of the community who were thinking about law-breaking to think again. I am hoping for a quiet weekend in St. George's."