turned off by violence.

Leaders of a community Police group are calling on Bermuda Cablevision and the Broadcasting Commission to introduce "more wholesome channels'' to keep youths away from crime.

The calls for cleaner TV programmes came after a 20-year-old Pembroke man was stabbed in the shoulder at the Western Stars Club on St. John's Road just after mid-day yesterday. And at around 8.15 p.m. last night, reported a Police spokesman, a man in his early-20s was assaulted by a group of teenagers outside of the Bermuda Institute in Warwick. The man, who was not named, declined medical attention and refused to register a complaint with Police.

The chairman of the Police Eastern Division Consultative Committee called for a block on violent American action shows.

W.A. (Toppy) Cowen said committee members met in St. George's on Monday night and told him they felt TV violence was a major cause of youth crime. And he called for TV to return to the days of Cowboys and Indians and steer clear of murder and mayhem.

He added: "In our day, the Indians were the bad guys and the cowboy always won the fight usually with his hat still on his head.

"Today the bad guys are not so bad after all -- in fact they get away with murder.

"It was suggested that it might be a good idea to persuade Bermuda Cablevision to have more wholesome channels.'' Don Greiner, General Manager of Bermuda Cablevision, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Cleaner TV urged as violence grows But Lt. Col. Brendan Hollis, Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission, said TV was not the only cause of youth violence.

He added: "The monitors on TV sets can be set to cut out adult programmes if that's what parents want.

"A lot of our television is what's available on the American networks and I certainly agree that young people may be affected by watching violence.

"We do not have an awful lot of control over the broadcasts from abroad so we have a difficult situation.

"But there are a lot of other factors besides TV which come into play with regard to youth violence.

"Young criminals aren't just inspired by what they watch on TV and perhaps it's down to parental guidance to supervise both what children are watching on TV and what else they are doing in their lives.''