A group of Bermuda Police officers, who are tired of dealing with out-of-control, misbehaving kids, have decided to put their collective foot down and stem the problem at its root.

They have become mentors in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS) programme. The Royal Gazette spoke to six Police officers shortly after they first met up with their new Little Brothers or Sisters.

“I was drawn to this programme because I saw a need in the community,” said P.c. Chickaya Darrell. “Children need some sort of direction and a role model,” he said. “There are a lot of negative influences such as television. There is a lot of peer pressure. Without that direction they tend to go astray. I may not be able to change the world, but I may be able to spark the brain which may change the world.”

Adults of ‘Bigs’ who take part in the programme, take their ‘Littles’ to activities such as bowling nights and the movies. They watch the Littles at sports events, go out to eat, do crafts or just hang out and talk.

“We have been together for two weeks now and we are having a good time,” said P.c. Corville Hylton who has a new six-year-old Little. “I am looking forward to going out this week. I have spoken to my Little, and I have been trying to figure out his likes and dislikes. He is very involved in martial arts, football, a few things. So I tried to see where I can fit in. On our first meeting, as a result of his idea, we went on a little tour. He said he wanted to stop at KFC. We stopped there and had a meal. We stopped at other places. He showed me around his house, showed me his achievements. He took me to his school. We are getting familiar with each other.”

BBBS, run by Esme Williams, tries to match Bigs and Littles of the same gender with similar interests. Inspector Beverly Pitt and her 12-year-old Little share an interest in sports. Ironically, the Little has the same coach that Insp. Pitt had when she was a teenager.

“She plays field hockey and bowling and netball,” said Insp. Pitt. “She is very sports oriented. Two weeks ago, I went to her hockey match and met with her coach, who was my coach, believe it or not. The coach took me over to her and said ‘you have someone you have to live up to’ because I was on the national side. It was good to hear her say, ‘guess, what, she’s my Big Sister’. That said, ‘okay, she wants to be in the programme’.”

Insp. Pitt said it is good to show young people that the Police don’t just lock people up.

“We are here to be a friend and show the humane side of Police officers,” she said.

Many of the officers in the programme are from overseas. The relationship with their Little gives them a way to connect with the Bermuda community.

“This is helping me to bridge that cultural difference,” said P.c. Glynn Kellman, from Barbados. “I can deal with the youth because I am familiar with the culture. There are many cultural differences between Bermuda and Barbados.

“For example, a Bermudian youth is more assertive when it comes to anyone. In the West Indies you will find the youth, when they come to the Police, they will draw back. If you said don’t stand on the sidewalk, a Bermudian would ask why. A West Indian youth would walk on.”

P.c. Kellman said his relationship with his Little is helping him to understand where Bermuda young people are coming from. He also hopes that the Bigs from the Police force will help raise the profile of Police, in general.

“By working with the youth in the community, we hope that they will eventually say, ‘oh, the Police are not like that’,” he said. “We want them to understand we are not just here to arrest people. We are part of one big village and society.”

P.c. Allan Palmer has a slightly older Little, who is 14 years old, which makes him more independent and opinionated.

“My Little is a very nice young man,” said P.c. Palmer. “He has his problems, and he looks up to me to help him with them. That is what I am there for.”

P.c. Palmer said when he went for their first outing, he didn’t think they’d done anything particularly special, but when he spoke with the boy’s mother he found out otherwise.

“She said he was all happy and joyful,” said P.c. Palmer. “We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. It is just the fact that he had someone there for him when he needed it. That is what made the difference.”

The programme is always in need of Big Brothers. Boys often have to spend time on a waiting list before they are matched. Many of them lack a father-figure in their lives.

“Each of us needs to feel wanted and we need to have a sense of purpose,” said P.c. Palmer. “If we don’t have that sense of purpose, and feel wanted, then we will do things to get the attention that we need. As Police officers, at Big Brothers, we are providing an environment where a Bermudian child can feel wanted and know they have some value. Once that need is met, then the problems that you experience with him will be less.”

P.c. Palmer is originally from St. Vincent. He thought there were more single parent families in Bermuda, than in the community that he came from.

“This is a challenge, because when there is an environment where there is only one parent, that parent has to be mother, father and friend,” he said. “Very often there is not enough time for that one parent to hold down the jobs that are needed to run the household, to be the mother, the father and the friend. Therefore, most of the kids, at some point, are unsupervised, and that can lead to delinquency.

“Also, in the Caribbean, the neighbourhood is still the neighbourhood, where Kellman could call the neighbour and say, ‘listen, I am going out now. Little John is coming to your house.’ He can go there and be supervised and be safe. I don’t see that type of co-operation operating in Bermuda.”

He said most of the young people in Bermuda are well-behaved, but there is a group of kids who are committing offences, over and over.

P.c. Donville Yarde was the officer responsible for getting together a group of officers to become Big Brothers. He is a veteran of the programme, having first joined in 1978 when BBBS first started up in Bermuda. He is proud that his first Little Brother is now an adult, who has a good job and has avoided getting into trouble with the Police.

P.c. Yarde had been away from the programme for some time when he was asked to take part in a youth camp recently. “I so enjoyed working with the kids that I thought, I would get on board with Big Brothers again,” he said. “I really missed working with the kids. We can make a difference as Policemen. Instead of going to the club and drinking and getting drunk and adding to the problem in Bermuda, we can do something positive.

“I think it is an investment we can make in the community. We have to get out there and get involved in the community. We have to be proactive. That means to get out there. By working with the youth, you get to know their friends, and we start to get together. So they no longer see us as the big bad wolf.”

Insp. Pitt said Police officers make good mentors, because people naturally look to them for guidance.

“People expect us to do the right thing, to be honest and law-abiding,” she said. “Young people are often looking for that guidance and structure, and we are seen as teachers, of a kind. Even when they come into custody, they are learning from Police officers.”

P.c. Darrell hoped other Police officers would also give up some of their free time to become mentors in BBBS.

“We have leadership skills,” he said. “On television, Police always come out of as the heroes. So I think that leadership is something that makes the kids switch on. Every officer here, has the credentials to mould a child.”Big Brothers and Big Sisters is looking for people from all career paths to become Bigs. To learn more telephone 232-2802 or e-mail esme.bbbs[AT]logic.bm or go to their webpage at www.bbbs.bm.