stop gangs -- another element of American inner-city violence -- from taking hold here, two Chicago gang violence experts warned yesterday.

University professor Dr. Thomas Regulus told the national conference on violence that the Island must also acknowledge that "posses'' or "crews'' are the same as "gangs''. And the drug trade was a "significant contributor to the emergence of gangs''.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority official Dr. Candice Kane said that in her research she had found cities such as New York and Atlanta had actually claimed not to have problems with gangs, "only posses and crews''.

But "gangs, whatever they called them, were alive and well in those cities,'' she told the hundreds of concerned residents who came out in force again on the third day of the conference entitled "Blow the Whistle on Violence''.

Gang violence was not new to America, Dr. Regulus pointed out.

Violent gangs were a problem in the 1960s and 1970s, but re-emerged in the 1980s with a nastier character and in greater numbers, he said.

"Gangs are now in the (US) suburbs -- we have middle-class gangs,'' he said.

"The violence has escalated with kids carrying automatic weapons. In LA, 50 percent of the 800 to 900 murders a year are gang related.'' Dr. Regulus, a professor at Chicago's Loyola University, said lack of job and income opportunities was a major contributing factor to gang violence. Gangs were a negative form of bonding and exerting power for males.

But he said an apparent lack of statistics on violence would hinder any efforts by Bermuda to counteract youth violence.

For example, "There's been a lot of discussion that domestic violence is very much related to criminal violence. That's a theory.'' However, he noted, domestic violence was embedded in black as well as white families yet "posses'' seemed to be mostly made up of black youth.

"Where are your numbers so you can look at youth violence?,'' he asked.

Dr. Regulus helped conduct the Chicago's national youth gang suppression and intervention programme which significantly reduced the number of gang-related murders. He also helped start the Chicago Youth Outreach Programme.

The Police have acknowledged the existence of gangs in Bermuda.

"There are some in our community who have denied the existence of gangs,'' Ch. Insp. Jonathan Smith said on the first day of the conference. "Perhaps they are unwilling to equate their behaviour to that of their American counterparts. But call them gangs, posses, crews or whatever you like -- they are here. They are reasonably well-defined and will defend their members vigorously. They will defend their drug territory -- often resorting to acts of violence to achieve their goals. They will commit violent crime as a group.'' He added gang-type violence was on the rise.

Ch. Insp. Smith agreed a more comprehensive approach in combating gang violence was needed.

Youth and Sport Minister the Hon. Pamela Gordon, who delivered the opening address, said she hoped the conference would indeed be a "wake-up call''.

"For too long, we have been in denial,'' she said. "We need to get away from the rhetoric.'' But she said violence had to be looked at by Bermuda as a community.

"Government can apply the funds to certain programmes but until we take back the community and become responsible and accountable for our children we will not change anything,'' she said.

American gang violence expert Dr. Thomas Regulus