A 'BACK of town' resident yesterday scoffed at Government's claim it is working to reduce drugs on the island, insisting that any serious effort would involve closer scrutiny of neighbourhoods such as hers.

She insisted that Government is fully aware of the drug trafficking and other illegal activities that take place in areas off Court Street but prefers to turn a blind eye to the problem.

And she feels it is for this reason her public and private pleas to Government to protect her from the drug users and other miscreants who have taken over the property she rents from the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC), have gone ignored for more than a year.

Experts this week claimed an increase in heroin and cocaine use on the island, citing a recent survey of new prisoners as their source. According to their findings, heroin use has risen to 30 per cent and cocaine use to 57 per cent.

"It's true," the woman agreed. "I can see that by what's happening on my veranda. I am thankful to the police.

"I think they're doing the best they can considering there's a manpower shortage but it's up to Government to put (CCTV) cameras in neighbourhoods like mine, those closest to Court Street.

"From the first time I spoke (publicly, about nine months ago) the situation has worsened ¿ the drugs, the people hanging out on my porch, littering the property and partying all hours into the morning.

"There are schoolchildren there who are exposed to all kinds of indecency. It's nothing new to the owner or the BHC. They've seen it and nothing has been done.

"I've seen kids smoke before they go to school, after they come home from school. I can go into any school and point out which ones are there 'high'.

"It's time for principals to screen kids at the school gate. The kids on my porch are exposed to everything and they take that behaviour that they see to school with them ¿ and you see what happens with the teachers, what they have to deal with."

The senior citizen has made repeated requests to the BHC to have a barrier erected on the property she rents from the Government quango, to prevent trespassers from congregating on her porch and using it as a footpath between the roads above and below her house. An added inconvenience is the size of the porch ¿ if the front door is open, pedestrians must shut it in order to walk past as a water tank takes up a large proportion of the area immediately in front of it.

The woman's complaints ¿ to BHC and Government officials ¿ have yielded no response, but in April, United Bermuda Party (UBP) candidates Wayne Scott and Tillman Darrell promised to speak with the property owner on her behalf.

Efforts to contact Mr. Darrell on the matter yesterday, were unsuccessful.

"I went to (Government Ombudsman) Arlene Brock about the problem a year ago," the woman complained. "She accepted the BHC's word, that they would relocate me. 'Til now, nothing has been done. Their promise was evidently just a knee jerk reaction and now the situation is worse."

The woman said thieves had broken into her house in the past few months and stolen her jewellery, a bottle was thrown at her through her window, her car was damaged and there had been at least three attempts to set the property on fire.

"It's gone from being a social problem to a personal problem," she said, speculating that she is being targeted for speaking to the press and voicing her dissatisfaction with those on her porch.

"Government, the BHC and the owner are not doing anything about it. It's time for the owner to step up to the plate and take the necessary precautions to secure his subtenant. I don't want to be a victim or a suspect in this anti-social behaviour. I'm asking them to block it off before some tragedy occurs on the porch ¿ either with me, or with one of them."

Police officers had also expressed concern about the property, arguing that its layout enabled criminal behaviour, the woman added.

"Everybody else in the neighbourhood has gone out of their way to block out this kind of behaviour," she said referring to walls made uncomfortable for sitting and enclosed backyards. "All the owner of this property does is collect rent. The BHC, as a Government quango, has the power to make him block the property. It's a gateway to crime ¿ its design allows perpetrators to escape police.

"The police have said they have spoken with the owner. I don't understand him or the BHC. I'm worried that somebody will get killed. And if anything happens to me or anyone else, I will do my best to sue because the police have spoken with the owner and asked him to block the property. If anything happens I will prosecute to the best of my ability."

Her treatment was indicative of just how inadequate Government's plan for fixing the island's housing problem is, the woman stated.

"The BHC has a scandalous reputation. (Public Safety and Housing Minister) Colonel (David) Burch says he has a plan for housing. He doesn't and it's a proven fact that I'm suffering for it. And if he does, where is it? The BHC is not operating as an honest quango. They've got people living in hellhole housing. Just because there's a shortage doesn't mean you have to have people living that way.

"I'm paying rent ¿ as I'm supposed to ¿ and as soon as I open my door, I am exposed to anti-social behaviour. It's my only access. When I come home I have to walk through a group of people displaying anti-social behaviour. The Government said when I took the place, that if anything goes wrong and it's not my fault, it's their responsibility to relocate me ¿ I'm open to trespassers. The boys say they've been hanging on my porch for years and they're not going to go away. The BHC is a joke. I'm paying for it but I can't enjoy the property. It's not fair."

The woman expressed equal distress in the way BHC officials have issued several empty promises to relocate her to more appropriate accommodation. It's for that reason she's encouraging people to vote for the Opposition at the next General Election.

"All they do is offer a knee jerk reaction to my phone calls," she said. "I complained several times over the last 17 months that I've come home and found the top of my (water) tank off. They came and put a lock on it ten days ago, without cleaning it first. So I can't drink the water because I don't know what's in the tank. God knows what's been thrown in there.

"It's not just me. A lot of BHC tenants are unhappy. Sure, some have caused (the problems) themselves, but most are unhappy with good reason. The BHC has the power to make the owner fix the property for me. I get conflicting stories from all the BHC staff.

"I'm tired of it. I'm fed up. I've had enough. I hope this Government doesn't get back in power. I'm mad as hell and I hope lots of people are like me, that they're mad as hell and they go to the polls and vote UBP."