December 30, 2009

Dear Sir,

According to recent reports in The Royal Gazette, the Bermuda police force has increased its manpower in the past ten years by 24 percent and Bermuda is now the third most heavily policed country in the world. (Royal Gazette, December 24, 2009) In approximately the same period serious crime has risen by around 15 percent, from 308 incidents reported in 2001 to 355 in 2008. Whatever the results are for 2009, no one can have failed to be aware of the roiling wave of shootings and murders in Bermuda in 2009.

By contrast, the New York City police force has reduced the number of its officers between 2000 and 2009, from 40,800 to 35,800, respectively (a reduction of 12 percent), mainly because of budget cuts that have reduced the number of new recruits. In that same period, the number of murders in New York City has fallen from 2,262 in 2000 to just over 460 in 2009 (a reduction of about 80 percent since 2000).

Whilst numerous sociological, political, operational and other factors clearly influence the crime rate of any place, the evidence strongly suggests that more Police officers on the beat do not necessarily lead to fewer crimes. It is, rather, how effectively Police officers are used that makes the difference. The quality of policing will help Bermuda to reduce its rising tide of criminality, not necessarily and in and of itself the quantity of its bobbies on the beat.

GRAHAM FAIELLA

London, UK