The Police cannot solve the issues in Bermuda that are causing crime.

That was the message from Governor Sir Richard Gozney on Saturday night when he addressed the annual dinner held by Speaker of the House of Assembly Stanley Lowe.

Re-capping yesterday on his unscripted remarks, Sir Richard explained how he told the politicians and dignitaries present: "On the issue of the Bermuda Police Service and their policing youth crime, I hoped that Bermuda would not ask the Police to try to solve the issues causing the crime.

"The Police could only curb the symptoms, not tackle the causes. They would do their best to curb the symptoms and the 45 or so new constables being deployed shortly, with around 25 more early next year, should help

"But as long as some families allowed their 14-15-year-olds to gather on South Shore beaches for parties at 2 or 3 am, and for as long as some parents accepted from their 24-25 year olds presents such as flat screen televisions or overseas holidays which they knew their children could not afford from wages, and as long as the market for illegal drugs in Bermuda remained large and lucrative enough for very considerable quantities of marijuana and cocaine to be smuggled from the US and Canada when the smugglers had already run the gauntlet of the US and Canadian authorities to get it that far, then only Bermudian society and its churches, community groups and others could address the causes — and I was glad to see that now happening."

The issue of youth crime was also raised by Dr. Alvin Curling, former speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, in his address to the dinner at the Fairmont Southampton Princess hotel.

He collaborated on a report ordered by the Premier of Ontario on the roots of youth violence there.

He urged those present: "It is imperative that we first need to understand the mindset of the youth who are the core of the public's concern, the ones who walk our streets and enter our schools with guns and weapons and seem to place no value on human life.

"I strongly believe that it is only if we find and address the condition (sic) that gives rise to that state of mind that we would be able to stop the growing number of youths who think that way."