The head of the Police?s gang unit has expressed his anxiety over growing signs that Bermudian gangs are becoming more organised and are developing links with infamous gangs in the United States.

Speaking to , Sgt. Arthur Glasford revealed that at least one gang leader is now openly acknowledging an affiliation with the Crips and the Bloods ? street gangs originating in Los Angeles which have become synonymous with bloody violence and drugs ? while graffiti championing this association has begun appearing on walls in well known gang hangouts in the last few months.

Aside from this, Sgt. Glasford added, an increasing number of local gang members are sporting jewellery and tattoos declaring their respective allegiances while pictures of young men in bars making their gang?s hand signals have been appearing on popular public websites.

Sgt. Glasford?s comments come in the aftermath of a recent visit from well-known New Jersey police officer DeLacy Davis to Bermuda, a man considered to be one of the foremost experts in the US on gang culture.

Mr. Davis met with the Bermuda Police Service and a wide-range of Government Ministries at the beginning of August to discuss what needs to be done to tackle the Island?s growing gang problem.

Mr. Davis also toured Bermuda in the company of local Police and had some dialogue with a number of different gangs. He is expected to submit a report in the next few days to Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton detailing his recommendations for action.

Mr. Horton has already pledged to do all that he can to ?bring these disaffected young men away from the margins of the community and into the centre?.

?The links with gangs in the US and the increasing organisation of Bermudian gangs is something which we have started noticing recently,? Sgt. Glasford said.

?The more interesting thing is that many gang members are now sporting jewellery ? such as bracelets, pendants and necklaces ? with their gang?s name on it. We believe that some but not all local gangs are starting to move towards what we refer to as ?traditional?, whereas once they were just loosely organised groups of young men hanging out together, they are slowly but surely becoming more organised. And something more serious is that the graffiti we?re seeing in certain parts of the Island shows signs and letters which you cannot just see on TV but could only have been picked up through some kind of affiliation with gangs overseas.

?That is a worrying sign. Bermuda is very close to the United States and it would be very easy for somebody affiliated with a US gang to come here. We know through our intelligence that one gang leader in particular has established links with gangs overseas. We are going to have to move quickly to deal with it because if we don?t, we could have a problem.?

On a positive note, however, Sgt. Glasford was insistent that the harsher penalties recently introduced for carrying bladed weapons in public ? which can see an individual convicted of such an offence go to prison for a mandatory minimum of three years ? have made ?an enormous difference? and are the reason behind the comparative lack of violent gang activity over the last month.

?The bladed weapons laws have been a real help,? he said.

?All of a sudden these guys realise that they could go to prison for a very long time if they?re caught carrying a knife or a machete has made them think twice. The law has its critics, but as long as the Police exercise their discretion and common sense, I think the law will work to everybody?s advantage and help cut down the level gang-related crime.?

But one of the principle solutions, Sgt. Glasford believes, is education, with the Police Service intent on targeting the junior and middle schools to warn students about the pitfalls of becoming caught up in gang life.

?My number one thing above all others is educating the community as the problem we are now facing,? he said.

?We have to cut out the middleman by going straight to the schools, trying to persuade them that there is a much more positive way to live their lives. I find there are still a lot of people in Bermuda who don?t think we have gangs. They?re living in a state of denial. Until they come out of that state of denial and actually come to understand the reality of the situation, then we are not going to make any real progress.?