violence in Bermuda following a series of recent incidents.

Coalition for the Protection of Children chairperson Sheelagh Cooper said last night that the group felt it was imperative to release the information earlier than originally planned because of violent crimes against visitors and locals alike.

She said: "The escalation of violence in the community over the last few months has made people recognise that it is a problem.'' Some of the proposals are: Establishing a committee made up of Government, community representatives and affected community members to investigate poverty and the lack of affordable housing; A fund for the promotion of community-based projects by adding a two percent surcharge to alcohol and tobacco sales; Decentralising service delivery systems to make assistance programmes more responsive to needs and more capable of addressing problems; School-based schemes that teach effective parenting; Ensuring tourism and international business provide more jobs to Bermudians by phasing out -- over a period of two to five years -- all permits to non-Bermudians in certain job categories such as waiters, kitchen staff, cleaning staff, clerical and secretarial workers, general labourers, gardeners, butchers and beauticians.