Offenders of all ages know that, her singing teacher knows that, and the pre-schoolers who shared the nursery stage with her at age four knew it too.

For beneath the gentle and charming exterior lies an iron determination to be successful at whatever she does.

A probation officer on 24-hour call, Mrs. Stevens also actively pursues a second career as a singer.

Pressed, she will admit that singing is her first love -- and small wonder, since her voice has taken her to many places and made her a host of friends.

Her first taste of stage life was accidental. Visiting the nursery school where her mother, well known local actress Mrs. Shirley Christopher, was teaching, little Leslee was invited to join the children in a Hallowe'en play.

"They put me at the back of the stage because I didn't know the songs they were doing,'' Mrs. Stevens remembered. "But I pushed my way to the front, and I have been there ever since!'' At age 14, without consulting anyone, Leslee entered the Miss Talented Teen competition, singing Barbra Streisand's Evergreen before a large audience.

If she didn't impress the judges, at least her mother saw the potential, and soon the high school student was signed up with professional singer and teacher, Miss Joy Blackett.

For the next three years, Miss Blackett would nurture the young voice and include Leslee in recitals. Then came graduation from high school and the dilemma commonly faced by talented students with more than one option.

At the same Miss Blackett offered Leslee a scholarship to the prestigious Julliard School, Up with People offered her a place in their renowned travelling road show.

One offered superb training, the other adventure.

"As a 17-year-old I chose Up with People because it was more exciting -- travelling, meeting people ...'' Mrs. Stevens said.

After initial training at its Tucson, Arizona headquarters, the spirited teen was put in a troupe touring Mexico and the Southern United States.

The year-long experience proved a real eye-opener. Eighteen-hour days, a continuous round of tour buses, hasty and sometimes dubious meals, family accommodation that ranged from near-primitive to palatial, were intertwined with endless rehearsals, the joy of performing and the pleasure of meeting people of all ages and from all walks of life.

"It was a time of mixed emotions for me,'' Mrs. Stevens said. "I was the youngest person travelling that year, and one of 500 people. You go through so many emotions during a day. It was electrifying -- a wonderful experience, which I wouldn't have exchanged for anything in the world. Even today I keep in touch with some of the cast.'' On returning to Bermuda, Leslee resumed singing lessons with Miss Blackett, covering "all kinds of music'' from pop to Broadway, and classical. Then she was off to Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, Massachusetts where she put singing lessons on hold while pursuing a degree in social work.

"I entered school competitions and sang solos in church but never studied singing,'' Mrs. Stevens related. "Atlantic's music programme was geared to the classics and I kind of think of myself as a rebel. It doesn't matter what I do. I just don't want to have my voice classified because then you are confined to one realm.

Graduating in 1976, she again returned to Bermuda and in between working at the Bank of Bermuda began voice lessons with Mr. Daniel Hill, an arrangement which still prevails -- as does a certain resistance to the classical repertoire.

"Danny is having a difficult time getting me to do classical pieces, but when I sing pieces from Italian operas I like dramatic roles -- like the selection from Puccini's Tosca, which I sang at a concert in May,'' the singer said.

She is also working with Mr. Hill to improve her technique and strengthen the mid-range of her voice.

"Most people think that when you reach a point where you sing well you just sit back and do it, but you always have to keep working on your voice. You usually reach your peak in your 30s or early 40s. I have just turned 30 so I am just starting to get there.'' Even a quick glance at her performance record indicates she is well on her way.

Her City Hall debut came in 1990 in All of Me -- a concert sponsored by Theatre Associates Bermuda. Typically, her choices ran the gamut from spirituals to pop and Broadway.

In 1992 she wrote a musical melodrama, A Night of Spirituals, which was produced by Theatre Associates and directed by her mother, with Daniel Hill as musical director. She has also written skits and plays, most of them for children.

In May this year Mrs. Stevens was among a select group of senior students showcased by Daniel Hill in An Evening with the Arts under Lady Swan's patronage, and in October she will accept an invitation to give a solo performance at Atlantic Union College to boost its social work scholarship fund.

"It will be my first solo concert in the US, so I am hoping that a lot will come of it because many producers within the industry will attend,'' the singer said.

Gospel is an area which particularly interests Mrs. Stevens because "it is a different medium to get the word out''.

"My faith means a great deal to me, and when you go to witness to somebody they are not always receptive to you talking about the Lord and what He can do for you,'' she explained. "But when you sing the same message, it is a little easier for people to listen and you can reach a wider audience.'' Active involvement with the gospel group, Choral Dynamics, means she has plenty of opportunities, both here and abroad, to get the message across.

While waiting for that big break as a singer, Mrs. Stevens is happy to pursue her career with the Department of Health, Social Services and Housing, which began in November, 1988 when she became a counsellor at the Brangman Home, a residential care facility.

In May, 1989 "on a whim'' she applied for the position of house parent at Observatory Cottage, another residential care facility, and to her astonishment was successful.

"I had to start from scratch to develop a programme -- a job made more difficult because the kids were already in residence. I was also the youngest person on staff, but also the boss, and most of my staff were males,'' Mrs.

Stevens related. "In addition, it was a time of change in residential care as a whole, but I stayed three years.'' Then, on another whim, she successfully applied for job as a probation officer in 1992. As such, Mrs. Stevens is part of a seven-strong team working flat out to cope with a variety of problems surrounding those who have come into conflict with the law.

Dealing with people on probation, supervising Senior Training School trainees and parolees, and writing parole and court reports are just some of the duties she undertakes. Working with juveniles is another.

"Probation is an alternative available to the courts instead of incarceration,'' she explained. "Usually, when someone is placed on probation there is a need that has to be addressed.

"People think probation is a slap on the wrist but the person must check with us on a regular basis, call in when they are sick or not at work, remain out of trouble and employed, and stay away from bad company. Sometimes extra conditions are attached, such as having to attend counselling for an addiction problem, so it is quite tedious for them.

"On top of that we have to work with whatever their problem is -- their relationship with family members, or taking a good, long look at themselves.

And if they don't comply with the probation order we take them back to court.'' Indeed, anyone who thinks they can get around Mrs. Stevens because she is a woman would be sadly mistaken, for she treats everyone alike.

To public criticism of probation orders, Mrs. Stevens said: "There are times when you have to turn a deaf ear to it, concentrate on the individual and reinforce the positive. I enjoy my job but it is extremely stressful.'' Looking at the root causes of the problems she deals with professionally, Mrs.

Stevens said these were many, and included poor parenting skills, the negative influence of television and videos, dubious home environments, defective relationships, materialism and substance abuse.

"The disposable parent syndrome is one example. The parent says: `You get on my nerves. Somebody take my child and fix the problem'.

"What we allow our children to see on television is another. Parents need to internalise what their children are doing and what they are seeing. What parents do in any shape or form somehow affects the child.

"Parents also need to spend time with their children, and do things with them. Let them know they are loved even if the parents are working two jobs.

"Having a good relationship is more important than buying toys and making sure they have the right clothes because a relationship gives understanding on both sides.'' Married for six years, she will soon be the main breadwinner while her husband Steve pursues a four-year degree programme in video and music recording at a Florida college.

PROBATION OFFICER AND SINGER -- Mrs. Leslee Stevens who advises: "Concentrate on the individual and reinforce the positive.''