Police have urged women to take heed of crime prevention advice following another two handbag snatches at the weekend - bringing this year's total so far to 20.

And Crime Stoppers has urged people to help eradicate the problem by reporting any suspicious people hanging around the streets, or offering information on incidents that have taken place.

There have been a number of purse and bag snatches this year and tourists have been among the victims. This has led to fears among women, as well as among people in the tourism industry who fear it will have an adverse affect.

In some cases, the victims have been hurt, but for each it has been traumatic.

In comparison, last year there were only about 15 incidents of handbag snatching for the whole year.

A Police spokesman said women should always be vigilant and use their common sense to ensure that would-be criminals were not presented with opportunities.

Officers have made five arrests for handbag snatching this year - one just last week - and believe the arrests may have helped to reduce the problem.

The Police spokesman said: "The majority of the incidents this year took place nearer the beginning of the year, and Police successfully adopted a strong response, including surveillance and intelligence, which led to a number of arrests.

"The incidents this month have also had some success, with an arrest made last week after some very quick work by the officers involved,

"One of the best pieces of advice is simply to not carry valuables on your person, if this is at all possible. If a purse or bag is necessary, it should be carried on the side away from the roadside, to prevent easy access by a would-be-criminal.

"Also, valuables that must be left in cars should be stored away out of sight, and, under no circumstances should any vehicles be left unlocked for any amount of time. Much of this is common sense, but it does help to remove the opportunity from a person considering a theft."

Police are investigating two bag snatches, one on Friday evening, and one on Saturday afternoon.

The first was at about 6.30 p.m. on Friday at the bus terminal in Washington Street in Hamilton. The Pembroke woman was sitting on a bench with her handbag beside her when the thief approached her and grabbed it.

On Saturday, a man approached a car as it was about to turn into the parking area of the Garden Market supermarket on Serpentine Road in Pembroke.

He put his arm through the open passenger side window of the car and made off with the female driver's handbag, which was on the seat beside her.

Co-ordinator of Crime Stoppers in Bermuda Alex MacDonald urged the whole community to band together.

He said: "The community needs to have more involvement in assisting the Police by reporting any suspicious individuals that might be hanging around, and passing on any information they might get, as this type of behaviour affects us all in the community, if not personally, through the negative affects it has on tourism.

"An incident like this could be very traumatic to the victim, and it could easily be any member of our own families who are targeted, so anyone with information should call Police or Crime Stoppers."

Women walking along Pitts Bay Road in Pembroke have been targeted by passing thieves in the past, leading to additional lighting being placed along the street. There have been fewer incidents in that area in recent weeks, however, secretary of the Corporation of Hamilton Roger Sherratt said he was unable to say whether or not it was as a result of the lights.

He said: "From my past experience, these kinds of incidents tend to go in spates where maybe one or two people are committing them. If they are arrested the offences may well stop. "But these are crimes of opportunity and they will occur where ever. It's possible that the additional lighting in Pitts Bay Road has deterred thieves from operating there, but we are still very keen to install CCTV along there."

Anyone with information about the incidents, or for more crime prevention advice, should call Police on 295-0011. Alternatively, they can call Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-623-8477, and they could qualify for a cash reward.