Bermuda?s gang problem will spiral violently out of control if drastic action is not taken immediately, a senior Police officer has claimed.

In a wide-ranging interview with yesterday, the Bermuda Police Service?s resident gang expert Sgt. Arthur Glasford warned that although Bermudian gangs are not currently as well-organised and structured as they are in the United States, left unchecked they will grow into a problem nobody can control.

Since becoming more heavily involved in policing local gangs in November 2003, Sgt. Glasford said he has already seen signs of greater cohesion among the various groups, which are beginning to use modes of symbolism such as dress-codes, hand-signals, graffiti, jewellery and tattoos from which to form an even stronger common identity.

And although he insisted gang activity is going through a ?quiet period? at present, he also revealed there has been a total of 22 incidents of gang-related crime since November last year.

?At this stage there are anywhere from between 15 and 20 gangs in Bermuda that are known to us,? he said.

?Certainly compared to the US they are fairly loosely organised and we have no evidence which suggests there is any sort of specified hierarchy within them. When I was in New Jersey last year on a special course sponsored by the New Jersey Police Gang Bureau, I learned about gangs which have a highly developed infrastructure. We are not there yet. But what I found alarming, and I have made this known to the Commissioner (of Poilce), is the same sorts of traits that were apparent in New Jersey 20 years ago are happening in Bermuda now.

?The government of New Jersey convinced themselves that gangs were not a problem and, having left it alone, the gangs have now evolved into highly organised, structured criminal groups. What is scary to me is that if we do not get a handle on it now, we may end up like them. As a small Island which is a major tourist attraction, we cannot afford to let our gang problem grow into the size it is now in the States. It has already started given that the US State Department website for Bermuda mentions the growing gang problem. We have to deal with it now before it becomes too late.?

Children as young as 11 are being seduced by the easy money and work-free existence of gang membership, Sgt. Glasford said, with prominent drugs barons routinely using gang members to distribute their wares ? for often highly attractive wages.

And it is not just the lucrative nature of drug running or a life of no responsibility that is appealing, he suggested, with the gang environment also offering a comforting structure and support system for the many young Bermudians who do not benefit from these influences at home.

?We haven?t got any real evidence to suggest these gangs are fully-blown fronts for criminal organisations, although there is little doubt in my mind that major drugs dealers use these people to do their selling for them,? he said.

?And we are seeing new faces all the time ? gangs are increasingly managing to attract younger people to them. Parkside (based on Parsons Road) for example, is made up of a lot of guys still in high school. The typical age range can be anywhere from between 11 and 12 upwards. The eldest tend to be in their early to mid-20s and it is unusual to find people older than this.

?But the gangs offer these guys a structure and a sense of belonging.

?A lot who join have had it rough and have grown up through hard times and they see it as an outlet for themselves. Drugs are clearly very heavily involved with all this, and a lot of the younger guys look up to their elders in the gang, see them on the street all day not working, dealing drugs, buying brand new sneakers every week and fancy clothes. It is an environment that is attractive to them and they feel secure in ? particularly the ones who come from broken homes.?

The violent altercations between gangs which frequently arise, most famously in the Wellington Oval skirmishes last year, are predominantly over territory, he said, with gang members often prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect their patch of the rock.

?They have this stigma whereby if you are from Warwick for example, or anywhere else, you cannot come into that territory if you do not belong,? Sgt. Glasford explained.

?You just cannot pass through there and if you do and they find out about it, there are going to be problems. We had one incident a while back when some guys from Ord Road were out one Saturday night, and went to get something to eat at restaurant on North Shore at three o?clock in the morning. A guy then walked in, who they knew to be a member of the 42nd Street Crew (based at Saint Monica?s Road in Pembroke). He then left and came back with a whole car full of guys armed with machetes and baseball bats because the Ord Road Crew were trespassing.?

Despite their best efforts, Sgt. Glasford said, Police continue to struggle with the reluctance of many witnesses of violence to come forward and testify.

And gang members who themselves have been the victim of sometimes vicious attacks often prefer to ?sort the matter out by themselves?, rather than involve the Police.

He was keen to stress, however, how pleased he was with yesterday?s announcement from Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton that witness protection legislation is being actively considered by the Ministry ? something Sgt. Glasford believes is long overdue.

?A big problem we have is that there are a lot of things going on out there that we didn?t even know about,? he said.

?We tend to find out later through informants and others, that this person was attacked last weekend by country guys or some guys car got smashed up by another gang. People very rarely come forward and report the incidents and more often than not decide to retaliate. We had a incident recently where one guy got a serious head injury from a machete attack on Front Street ? but when we got to the hospital he did not want to disclose anything about what happened. And this is after the doctor told us if he had been struck one more time he probably would have been dead. That same man was then part of a group of guys who then went and smashed up a town gang members car recently. So they tend to want to keep the battles between themselves and keep the Police out of it.?

Solving the gang problem is something which is dear to Sgt. Glasford?s heart, and he revealed he is in the process of submitting a detailed business plan to Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith, highlighting methods he believes will yield significant results in the war against gangs.

?There is a lot more that needs to be done,? he said.

?I along with a few other colleagues are putting together a business plan to submit to the Commissioner, to hopefully put in place a number of things to handle the gang problem effectively. This is something I believe strongly in and I really want to see it through. The main point is to get the community more involved and aware of what to look for. Without their help, our job is made virtually impossible because they are our eyes and ears. We do our best, but we cannot be there every time something happens unless we are kept properly informed by people who have the best interests of society at heart.

?We need also to go to the grass roots, to liaise with the churches and the schools particularly. It is important to get to the kids while they?re young and talk to them about gangs and the problems associated with that sort of lifestyle. I?m convinced that a large campaign in the schools is going to really sell and where we are going to get results.?

While repeatedly underlining the need for action, Sgt. Glasford warned also that the existence of gangs ?should not be blown out of proportion? in that ?not all crime that takes place is necessarily gang-related?.

?I do not want people to think that just because one guy gets robbed on Court Street by a group of guys then they must be gang members,? he said.

?At present, gangs are fighting amongst themselves and there is no evidence as yet to show they are attacking innocents or robbing stores. This needs to be emphasised. Right now though, we have to admit there is a problem, and although not a large one yet, if we leave it alone it will turn into something we just cannot handle.?