A Bermudian researcher’s continuing study of gang violence that “centres on island life and island challenges” went this week before a gathering in London of police commissioners from across the British Overseas Territories.

Frankco Harris, a criminologist completing doctoral studies at Oxford University, shared his investigation into Bermuda’s youth violence and the complex factors underpinning gangs on Tuesday with an audience of officials convened by the British Overseas Territories Conference for Commissioners of Police.

“I was grateful to represent Bermuda,” said Mr Harris, who was congratulated by the island’s Commissioner of Police, Darrin Simons, for his one-hour presentation, during which he fielded questions from officers representing various OTs.

Mr Harris said the opportunity to share his exploration of how islands produce specific social patterns was “absolutely amazing”.

“I shared how my research can benefit Bermuda and how it can be applied to other small islands and Overseas Territories,” he added.

His talk ranged from “police and our constitutional set-up” to “local representation on the police force and foreign officers coming in, to all the kinds of issues around colonial history and inequality” — with an emphasis on the concept of “island strain, the pressure of living in a small island community”.

Mr Harris said he broke the topic down into constrained opportunity, reputational and relational strain, institutional strain, and “uneven exit and fragile reinvention”.

He explained: “Some people have access to going overseas for education or work or, in the context of gang violence, to be removed for their safety — but if you don’t have the money, the means or the connections, what does that mean to people who don’t have access to that?”

Mr Harris said some of the conversation around Bermudian emigration to Britain had been “weaponised” and presented as Bermudians relocating simply as a matter of taking advantage of state benefits.

“Emigration is a feature of small-island communities — it’s mostly young people going overseas for education, these positive sides, but there can be an element of brain drain and youth who don’t want to come back.

“People also leave for new opportunities and to escape their past identity, or to gain relief from socioeconomic conditions in Bermuda. It means that some people can leave and reset, while others remain stuck.”

Mr Harris said the factors in the framework of his research “don’t necessarily produce gang violence” — but provide a context for how to view it.

He said an officer from the Turks & Caicos Islands “found it fascinating”.

“They have a different social make-up, and a lot of different dynamics with gangs in Turks & Caicos. He was interested in how my framework could be used there.”

Mr Harris added: “You use the framework to investigate the social production of islands.

“We didn’t suddenly arrive at gang violence. It’s deeply embedded in our history and what I consider the unresolved tensions that have spread out over generations.”

He said he was also able to speak from his own experiences of the criminal justice system.

Mr Harris wrote afterwards on social media: “It is not always easy, but I try to use every opportunity to show what rehabilitation can really look like.

“I often feel like I’m punching above my weight, but I know it's all bigger than me, and in some ways, that’s exactly how I feel about Bermuda, too. Small island, big contribution.”

Mr Harris told The Royal Gazette he hoped to have his doctoral thesis concluded by the end of this year. “I’m in the home stretch,” he said.