Handbag snatchers, beggars and almost getting swept away by a giant wave. Things that might make for holiday hell ? but they?re all in a day?s work for Tourist Crime Unit cops Shameen Iqbal and Shannon Trott.

Clad in natty baseball caps and polo shirts, and tasked with ensuring the Island is a safe place for hordes of summer visitors, Constables Iqbal and Trott are well known faces at Bermuda?s hottest tourist spots.

Set up last year after the plain-clothed Beach Squad was disbanded, the Tourist Crime Unit (TCU) aims to provide high visibility patrols at locations such as beaches, hotels, cruise ship terminals and tourist events.

Working varied shifts ? including nights ? to keep the criminals on their toes, the pair cover every inch of the Island on their daily beat. They had a busy start to summer, with a number of handbag snatches on beaches and a string of break-ins at guest houses.

However, this has tailed off in recent weeks as the TCU heads towards the end of its annual May to October policing stint.

?We give advice to hotels and guest houses and do beggar patrols ? a few people hassle the tourists on Front Street,? said P.c. Iqbal. ?We?ve made about six arrests this year for begging, warrants, breach of the peace, theft out of a tent, and disqualified driving.

?We?ve also told off some tourists for riding around with no helmets and arrested one person for drunk driving.?

It seems that the tourists and locals alike don?t do much to help themselves at times.

?One problem is people leaving their stuff on the beach, going into the ocean for an hour, coming back, and thinking it?s still going to be there,? she said. ?They leave things that are worth a lot of money, like iPods, credit cards and passports and their entire spending money.?

She added that a surprising number of break-ins at hotels and guest houses are more like walk-ins ? because visitors simply don?t bother locking their doors when they go out for the night.

?Bermuda?s marketed as a safe place to come, and then people think there?s no crime,? she said.

On the day caught up with the pair, they swapped their usual motorbike transport for a car in order to take us on a tour of duty.

The motorbike is one of many new experiences for P.c. Iqbal, 35, who worked for Thames Valley Police and West Midlands Police in England before joining the Bermuda Police Service two years ago.

She joined the TCU for a change from her usual uniformed job at Somerset Police Station ? but confesses that she was terrified at the prospect of learning to ride in order to join the unit.

As we watch a convoy of nervous tourists wobbling along South Road at a steady 30 kph, she admits that she?s not much faster. P.c. Trott, 23,has been with Bermuda Police Service for three years ? and is a lot more confident on two wheels.

Biking is not the only scary experience P.c. Iqbal has endured since joining the TCU.

?I?ve nearly been swept away by a wave while trying to get right to the end of the beach,? she said. Luckily, although she got wet nearly up to the waist, her valuable Police radio stayed dry.

Hoping that the day spent with the TCU would not involve a near-drowning, we set off to scramble up an overgrown bank in deepest darkest Southampton in a bid to find some people camping illegally on Government property.

The tents are there, but there?s no-one home. It?s 8.30 a.m. and the Police officers think the occupants have already headed off to work.

We move on to the cliffs above Horseshoe Bay, fully equipped with binoculars and a camera, in order to better help the officers catch those committing dastardly deeds in the act.

This morning, however, there?s no criminal activity ? just lots of scantily clad volleyball players.

Next it?s on to the Southampton Princess hotel to meet up with Director of Security Winston Esdaille.

?We go to the hotels and guest houses to check everything?s OK and if there?s a problem they can call us up,? said P.c. Iqbal. ?We give them our cell numbers.?

This means a lot to Mr. Esdaille. ?We work very closely. It?s terrific. We see the officers on a regular basis and they are aware of the challenges we face,? he said, listing the biggest of these as youngsters trespassing on hotel property.

Hazel Lowe, who runs Salt Kettle House guest house, is equally full of praise when we visit her.

?They have been so good to me whenever I have a problem, although ? touch wood ? I?ve not had one for some time,? she said.

Next destination is Dockyard, to meet passengers disembarking from thecruise ship and make sure there are no beggars around to hassle them. Although the cruise visits are generally trouble free, they can lead to some strange situations.

?We once had someone trying to breach security on a cruise ship ? they were just trying to go to sleep for the night,? said P.c. Iqbal.

As well as providing security and reassurance, the officers also find themselves doubling up as an information service. Within minutes, the pair are bombarded with questions ranging from what change is needed for the bus to where the nearest pay phone is.

?They often ask where the best beach is and where they can get something to eat,? explained P.c. Iqbal.

Eugene DeSilva of Bermuda Tour Dispatchers is glad to have them around.

?People always have confidence when they see the law enforcement people around,? he said, as the pair hit the road once more to continue their mission to make sure the Island?s visitors have a trouble-free trip.