"bike-jacking''.

Two youths who rode up alongside a Paget teenager riding home on South Shore Road in Devonshire on Wednesday night weren't after his money, but his 50cc Yamaha.

"Exactly what they do to cars in the US and England -- that's what they're doing to bikes in Bermuda,'' Police spokesman Insp. Roseanda Jones said.

The teenager's mother Mrs. Peggy Tucker claimed that Police, after she reported the crime to them, had told her "bike-jacking'' was now common in Bermuda. However, Insp. Jones disagreed, noting there had been about four reported cases of bike-jacking in the last four months.

"It's a very, very new crime,'' she said, noting it had a way to go before it was as common as the stolen bike crisis the Island is currently in the midst of.

Mrs. Tucker said the two youths demanded her 16-year-old son get off his bike, but he chose to speed up.

However, the "bike-jackers'' caught up with him again and yelled at him to get off his bike, kicking him in an attempt to make him lose control. He landed on the sidewalk, but before the youths got his bike, he turned it around and fled in the opposite direction -- they were blocking the other way.

Again the two attackers caught up with him, kicking him some more and pulling on his back carrier.

"He was almost thrown across the street into the path of an oncoming van,'' Mrs. Tucker said. He managed to get to Cloverdale Estate where he rode to a resident's home and banged on her door. The woman let him stay until he felt it was safe to leave.

Mrs. Tucker said the incident was reported to Police, who informed her "that bike-jackings are now somewhat commonplace in Bermuda''.

She said the officer on duty also said that "because of the shortage of Police manpower, the streets are not patrolled to the extent that these youngsters are not even fearful that a Policeman will come upon them while they are carrying out one of their criminal deeds -- even at 8 p.m. in the evening on a busy street like South Shore Road.

"Cuts in Police manpower are a result of cuts in the budget and now all the predicted rises in crime, even by teenagers have occurred.'' Mrs. Tucker said among the reasons she decided to write to the Premier and copy her letter to The Royal Gazette was to thank the Police officers who dealt with the report and in the hopes Government would give crime "serious and immediate attention''.

"The whole Island knows that you are bringing two `chiefs' to our shores to run the Police department,'' she wrote the Hon. Sir John Swan.

"Whether or not this is a good choice, only time will tell, but perhaps you also need to address the `Indians' who will be serving the `chiefs'. Do we have enough of them? Do we pay them enough? Are we addressing the problem of low morale on the Police Force?'' `Bike-jacking threat "This is our Island and we should be able to feel safe and secure and that we have the presence of sufficient and efficient Police Force to ensure our safety. Criminals are becoming more and more brazen and these problems need to be addressed immediately.

Insp. Jones, while conceding the Police Force was not at full strength, said she didn't believe the type of crime Mrs. Tucker's son suffered could have been prevented by increased men on the street.

"It's common knowledge the Police Force has been understaffed for three years now. Our established strength is 489. We are operating on 432,'' she said.

"But I don't see how the fact there are not enough Police could have helped him. You can have Police on every corner and the crime can occur between corners. It's like handbag snatches. We're not likely to be there when they happen.'' She said "bike-jacking'' was a "sign of the times'' and trailed the escalating crime of car-jacking in America and other countries.

Bermuda being small, thieves targeted bikes which they can break down for parts instead of cars.