Violence has been making headlines, with reports of riots, fighting and attacks appearing in the media almost daily.

The Royal Gazette recently reported that many seem to be attributing this increase in violence to drugs, namely the ever-increasing shortage of marijuana on the Island.

Drugs also seem to be leading to an increase in other, non-violent, acquisitive crimes. In the Police quarterly reports for the end of 2002, Police stated violent crimes were actually at a low, while other "non-violent", acquisitive crimes such as breaking and entering are at an all-time high.

Although such crimes are labelled "non-violent", there is always the potential for violence when an intruder is desperate enough to break into a home while its occupants are still inside. One woman recently spoke to The Royal Gazette about her own bone-chilling brush with violence.

In bed with the lights out but not yet asleep, the woman, who did not wish to be identified, said it was around 11.30 p.m. when she heard a noise - "like someone was trying my door".

With her bedroom downstairs, the woman went upstairs to her kitchen which had doors leading outside. Outside was dark, however she had a nightlight burning in the kitchen making her clearly visible through her French glass doors to anyone peering in.

And, on the glass pane next to the door handle, she noticed a piece of duct tape - tape that had not been there when she went to bed.

Suspicious, but unsure of whether or not she should call the Police about a piece of tape on her door, the woman hesitantly picked up the phone. It was at that point that she heard what she described as "a very loud bang and a flash" from outside.

Although she did not realise it at first, the bang and flash were the result of a person outside using a piece of the firewood she had stacked to smash her outside light.

Then, to her horror, the person began using the fire log as a battering ram, hammering at her glass window.

"He knew I was in there," she remembered. "He could see me."

Screaming, the woman immediately dialled 911. By that point the alarm on her security system was going off, attached to the Bermuda Central Station. "It was extremely loud," she remembered.

"He was after my purse, sitting on the kitchen counter," she said. "It was clearly visible.

"He saw that purse and he wanted it, and he didn't care what he had to do to get it."

Backed into a corner, the woman said although she managed to get out her address to 911 as the man smashed through the glass and unlocked the deadbolt, she must have hung up because the security system called to ask if there was a problem.

Meanwhile, the man had entered her house. "He didn't look at me or speak to me, he was covered from head to foot," making him impossible to identify, she said.

"I have never been so scared in all my life. I thought he was after me - I didn't even see the purse.

"He took hold of the purse and fled."

Between the 911 call and the call from the security system, to her immense relief the Police arrived inside of two minutes. "They were there extremely quickly - they were really good," she said.

"They had a look around and found he had actually broken into my car - he broke a window and stole rolls of dollar coins I had in there," she said.

"And here's the scary part - he had splashed bleach all over the interior."

With such clear evidence of malicious intent, the woman said she was sure if she had not had her security system, things would have turned out differently.

"People should know they need to be far more cautious," she said. "I had locks, I had a security system - all that didn't stop him.

"I think I got a little bit careless with leaving my purse on the counter (with the light on). All he had to do is stand in the doorway and see it."

And when drugs are a driving factor, she added, it seems "people are prepared to take pretty good risks".

Admitting that she often studied at night before a window with the blinds open, she begged others to be especially careful about closing their blinds at night. "People shouldn't do that anymore (leave blinds open)," she said. "He could see I was alone.

"Close your blinds, put your purse away. Particularly if you are a woman alone, you have to exercise some extra caution. These are really basic things any Police officer will tell you but one wouldn't think you wouldn't be able to leave your firewood outside."

Women's Resource Centre executive director Penny Dill said people have to be aware that as violence in the community increases, such incidents against the vulnerable may well follow suit.

"And women are more vulnerable," she added - not just young women, but the elderly even more so.

"We continue to caution women to make themselves familiar with the information Police give," she said. "Usually we look for those things after the fact, not before."

She also implored people to get to know their neighbours saying that not only will neighbours be more likely to realise something is wrong, they will also be more likely to do something to help.

"It's important for Police to make contact with the victims of these crimes because it can be very traumatic. It's very important they follow up with victims so the victims know what's going on."

She added, however, that while awareness is needed, blowing the severity and rates of such incidents out of proportion is not helpful. "If you blow things out of perspective, that's not good either."

More tips from Police on home security for women is available in 'Police Security Advice for Women', a purple booklet that is available at Police stations.

"I am the third woman living alone in my department at work of 27 people who has had a violent incident in the last two years," concluded the woman.

"That is not a small number. You have to be careful."