Many of those involved with gangs were likely dealing with trauma passed down through their genes, according to the head of a Government intervention group.

Leroy Bean, the head of the Gang Violence Reduction Team, said that many Bermudians had suffered from “epigenetic markers” that made them more likely to develop stress-related disorders ― and finding solace in organised crime.

He added that the number of people involved with gangs was likely around 800 people ― four times as much as the 200 members across 11 gangs as initially shared by police.

Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said last September that there were likely 200 gang members spread out across 11 gangs, though recognised the question was “complex” because of associate members who may not be directly involved.

However, Dr Bean said: “If every member has three or four associates that would rise to the occasion when it’s necessary, how could you say that the statistics is 200?”

He added: “Many of our young people have basically experienced some sort of trauma that has caused the epigenetics marks that send the wrong signals.

“That’s what happened to many in the population.”

Epigenetics examines changes in gene expressions ― directions given to one’s body ― that are triggered by external forces without changing the DNA.

Common factors include one’s environment, diet and personal interactions.

Dr Bean, who studied behavioural epigenetics, said that personal experiences could trigger genetic expressions that strengthened certain pathways in the brain.

These pathways, he explained, would make certain behaviours and reactions more common.

He added that exposure to stressful situations could strengthen pathways in parts of the brain that led to stronger stress responses ― and could even result in stress-related disorders.

Dr Bean said these alterations could further be passed down from parent to child, making a person more likely to be born with stress-related disorders or behaviours, even if they did not face a stressful situation.

He said: “Many of our young people have basically experienced some sort of trauma that led to these epigenetic markers.”

Dr Bean added: “The traumatic event is not necessarily current — they can be things that are passed on from generations.

“You have young people dealing with generations of trauma that they didn’t even face themselves.

“So for me to think that only 200 people have been affected by this trauma would be inaccurate. I think it’s about 800 or more — and many of them are under-radar.

“You’ve got a lot of young people that might be involved that [the authorities] don’t even know of.”

Dr Bean said that, to combat this, children needed to be monitored for warning signs at a young age and offered early intervention to help them deal with stress.

He said this needed to be a “collaborative” outreach effort and potentially target children at the preschool-level.

Dr Bean has headed the Gang Violence Reduction Team for about eight years after joining in October 2017.

According to Dr Bean, the team used several community outreach methods to prevent people from getting involved with gang activity and other forms of crime.

He said that he and his five-man team went into schools to lead counselling programmes and interventions, while he visited other clients to “encourage them to get into things that are positive”.

The GVRT also headed several programmes designed to provide guidance throughout people’s lives, Dr Bean later explained.

He explained that courses such as the ten-week I AM Programme, which runs in four schools, counselled young people who were susceptible to gang involvement.

He added that initiatives such as the Redemption Programme helped people find and maintain jobs to prevent them from turning to crime to support themselves.

Dr Bean said that, overall, he believed his approach had been successful based off both the falling of incidents and the quality of feedback.

He cited the National Violence Reduction Strategy and explained that, when broken up into two eight-year periods between 2009 and 2024, there had been “a decline in every area” after he joined in 2017.

He added: “To say that gang violence has not dropped or that it doesn’t show success in what’s being done would be a farce, because I believe that the numbers speak for themselves.

“However, that is not to say that we take all credit because it’s a collaborative effort with many organisations that are on the ground that are working collaboratively to make sure that gang violence is being tackled.”

The Strategy recorded 92 murders between 2009 and 2024.

Of these murders, 48 took place between 2009 and 2016, while 44 took place between 2017 and 2024.

The highest number of homicides in this timespan, nine incidents, took place in 2022, while 2019 was the quietest year with no murders listed.

Murder statistics for 2025 have not yet been calculated and made publicly available.

There was no separation of gang-related and non-gang-related murders in the statistics.

Dr Bean said: “I am one that believes you can’t quantify everything. Some things need to be qualitative — the story’s just as important as statistics.”

He said that he hoped to connect with more groups to assist those at risk of turning to crime.

Dr Bean added: “Success to me is continuous and it’s collective.

“When we start to start to think from a collective standpoint and start to realise that our success depends on the success of the person beside us, then I think we’re heading towards true success.”