With sexual and physical abuse of children apparently on the increase on one hand, and lawlessness among some of the Island's young people spiralling out of control on the other, Bermuda Police Insp. Gertie Barker and her staff are often in the unusual position of having to perform two roles at the same time.

The head of the Police Community and Juvenile Services Department says: "Our job is particularly difficult because we have to deal with the victim and the defendant -- and that can be hard!'' Understandably, Insp. Barker who recently received a special Commendation from the Commissioner of Police for "outstanding work and leadership'' within her department, is thrilled that new interviewing facilities for children are now a reality.

Describing some of the cases they have to deal with -- incest and other forms of sexual abuse against the very young as "worse than any tabloid you could read'', she says that the new interviewing room at Prospect has already eased the sense of trauma that inevitably surrounds cases of this nature.

"But,'' she comments, "we should have had these facilities long ago! It wasn't for lack of trying, but there were certain priorities -- and those obviously didn't lie with the youth of this Island -- even though they should be the most important.'' Newly furnished in child-size furniture, the new room has been painted by volunteer Stephanie Hill in bright, cheerful colours, with murals of sailboats bobbing on blue seas, cottages, a lighthouse, and a parachuter jumping out of a sky festooned with moon and stars.

"This is a much nicer atmosphere,'' she comments, "and we have worked very closely with Social Services on this, because the children who come through this door have been badly traumatised.'' There is already a recorder in place, to tape all interviews and now they hope to have a two-way mirror with a video camera to film interview sessions. "We would like to have these admissible in court to prevent the ordeal a child has to face at the moment -- giving evidence with the alleged perpetrator sitting there in the same room! It is difficult to prosecute these cases, as there are rarely witnesses, and that places a very heavy burden on very young children.

The use of videos would require a change in the law. There is some urgency in this, so that we can protect these children from further harm and trauma.'' Ideally, she says, they would like a facility that would embrace a `multi-team' approach for the investigation of child abuse, including an examination room for the victim, a child psychologist, on-call medical examiners, and representatives from Social Services as well as the police.

Insp. Barker reveals that this month, Commissioner Coxall is sending her off on a month's special, two-pronged training course in the UK.

"I will be on attachment with the Thames Valley Police and then the Sussex Police. Part of my assignment is to learn how to set up a Casualty Bureau to deal with any major disasters that may occur here. There will be special emphasis on dealing with survivors, and counselling family members. So I shall be setting that up in Bermuda and then train a contingent of police officers to be prepared for any disaster situation. This is common procedural training for the police in Europe and Canada.'' In addition, she will be studying joint programmes set up between police services and school liaison officers to deal with juveniles, with special emphasis on training within the schools by the police in relation to drugs and abuse situations. "We need a programme that can be encompassed by the entire police service here -- not just a section of it,'' she emphasises.

Insp. Barker says that since Community and Juvenile Services was set up in 1987, she has found an ever-increasing need for this type of policing. "I would have to say that children and teenagers are far more difficult now than they were, say, 15 years ago. I've seen a tremendous difference in attitudes.'' Acknowledging that, when the facility opened, a lot of work needed to be done within the schools to improve the image of the police with young people, Insp.

Barker says that there are already several programmes up and running, from pre-school through to secondary students.

Noting that there is now a much closer liaison with the Department of Education, she says that in the past, much of their information came `second-hand', usually from a parent or friend who was disgruntled at the way an issue had been handled.

"The most difficult aspect in working with the schools is that many of the incidents are not reported. We're finding now that Education are more prepared to deal with criminal issues within the schools by calling us at the outset.'' Even so, she admits to a feeling that Bermuda is fighting a losing battle. "I believe we have got to the stage where it's got completely out of hand.

There is total disruption in the schools by unruly teenagers -- and sometimes kids who are not yet teenagers!'' Citing a worrying increase in the number of students who steal from other students, she says: "They'll take anything! Bikes, money, even sneakers -- and the worst part of it is that they show absolutely no remorse for their behaviour, they are constantly challenging and defying the system. We have no facility in which to house these young hoodlums, so they end up in Juvenile Court where, more often than not, they end up walking out of court, laughing their heads off at the entire system.'' Describing the Juvenile Court (for people under 16 and overseen by one magistrate and two laymen) as "a Zoo'', Insp. Barker is critical of its location in Hamilton and the fact that there is no privacy for alleged offenders. "The end result is that these youngsters are all there together, feeding off one another and becoming more and more disruptive.'' Asked what she thinks are the causes behind this seeming breakdown of law and order among some young people, she answers: "A lot of it stems from the drugs problem, and things also seem to have got worse since the recession. But I think it's mainly to do with the unravelling of the family unit. That has to have an impact on any child's behaviour!'' Noting that her Department was set up to deal with juvenile crime and delinquency and the community problems that arise out of domestic disputes, especially with regard to the very young -- and therefore, the most vulnerable members of the community -- Insp. Barker pleads for people to make more use of the services and help groups that already exist. "So many people who get into a bad situation for one reason or another tend to try and deal with it on an ad-hoc basis and that can cause more harm than good. If only they could realise that there are so many avenues where help, and excellent support systems are available.'' Citing such diverse organisations as Social Services, the Women's Resource Centre, PRIDE and Tough Love, she adds: "These are not a bunch of `do-gooders'. These are people who genuinely want to help, and people should take advantage of the help they offer. If they did, I really do believe that there would be a better chance for families remaining united.'' On the subject of abuse, Insp. Barker says that although there are cases of physical abuse, there is a far greater incidence of sexual abuse.

"We do see very serious injuries, mainly burns, or massive bruising, not a lot of broken limbs. People tend to hit their children with sticks and belts and there have been a couple of deaths of babies due to physical violence.

Sometimes severe mental injuries occur, especially with the `shaken child syndrome', which causes brain damage and usually occurs when a child cries excessively.'' The main form of abuse in Bermuda, however, is sexual in nature. "Many of our young people have been damaged beyond repair because of sexual abuse that starts at a very young age. This can be incest, or sexual molestation from close family friends -- people that the children know. We get teenagers coming in who say they have been interfered with by their grandfathers. We have incest between father and daughter, we have mothers sexually interfering with their young sons. We have step-fathers and boyfriends of single mothers molesting both girls and boys. Some of these children are as young as two years old.'' She confirms that many of their leads on this type of abuse come from people who report suspected cases. "Someone who has seen or heard something that has aroused their suspicions. I would encourage all members of the community to assist in this type of scrutiny. Don't be afraid to come forward! We can guarantee anonymity but we must help these children who are suffering so badly.'' Although physical and sexual abuse is found throughout society, and includes all races and classes, Insp. Barker believes that much of it is cultural in origin.

"Different sections of society deal with things differently -- some people simply won't accept that their behaviour is abusive in the first place! Some of them think this kind of thing is `O.K.'. We are what we learn -- and all of this is learned behaviour!'' Television, much maligned for its harmful effects on children, comes in for some praise from Insp. Barker.

"I do believe that TV has been a great teacher in breaking down the barriers on sexual abuse. There have been many programmes that point out moral values and children can identify, and learn from that, and the fact that certain behaviour is unacceptable. So in that sense, the mass media has helped get these `taboo' messages across to people, and I think that has contributed to the fact that more victims are speaking up.'' She also feels that the permissiveness that swept through society in the 1960s may be blamed for the breakdown in values today. "I think that the '60s left us with a lost generation and it's going to take a generation or two before we can get back on track. I think a lot of these problems have arisen because some of us have shirked our responsibilities as adults and parents.'' Insp. Barker, who is the mother of two sons -- Che, 18 and Tyler, 11 -- pays tribute to one Police scheme, in place for some time now, which has proven very successful. Applicable only to first offenders in relatively minor crimes, and with the agreement of all parties (including the defendant), a young person can be placed on the Juvenile Liaison Scheme.

"The offender is supervised by a police officer, so it's a one-off chance to rehabilitate that child. One of the objects is to have the officer, always a volunteer, socialise and take the kid to the movies, or maybe play sport together, and just generally spend time, to make them understand there is another way of life, another way of handling hard situations. We have very, very few, if any, repeat offenders, so it's a scheme that really does work.''