April 6, 2004

Dear Sir,

I read the online version of every day. We have been visiting your lovely Island for over 30 years.

However, due to the increase in violence (gangs, drugs, people with knives, guns and machetes, tourist getting stabbed, robberies, etc.) we are having second thoughts about making vacation plans to return this year. Why doesn't Bermuda take an immediate stand against the thugs and gangs that now control the Island?

It seems that Bermuda has become so permissive, that anything goes. There is no "zero" tolerance for criminal behaviour. The young gang members know this. They know they will just get a slap on the wrist. Bermuda is a small island. It is not like the police have to patrol miles and miles of land. Bermuda is only 22 miles long and a few miles wide.

The law-abiding people of Bermuda have lost their rights to peace and security because of these teenage hoodlums. Somebody needs to give them a good "kick in the butt' and jail time. These kids live on one of the most affluent and beautiful islands in the world and yet they have to do drugs? Give me a break??If Bermuda doesn't take action soon, no one will want to visit the Island for a vacation.

I was going to bring my 83-year-old mother back to the Island this June, but why should I have to worry about what might happen while we are in Bermuda? I don't call that a relaxing way to spend our holidays. I think Bermuda will "shoot itself in the foot" if something isn't done immediately to put a lid on these criminal activities. Bring in the Royal Marines if necessary, establish curfews, establish work/boot camps for teenage gang members, adopt a policy similar to Singapore. Get tough!

These kids need to know that their behaviour is unacceptable. They need boundaries that they dare not cross over or suffer the consequences. If Bermuda continues to be "wishy-washy" about strong discipline for these gangs, crime will only escalate. What is it going to take to get this island to wake up? I write all of this because I love Bermuda. But, it just makes my hair stand up when I think about how nothing is really being done.