a sharp increase in violent crime.

The advice, in a free crime prevention brochure, comes after Police Commissioner Mr. Lennie Edwards revealed violent crime in Bermuda was rising.

Assaults and other forms of violence were up 25 percent in the first nine months of 1992 over the same period last year, he said.

Now 4,000 copies of the brochure "Robbery Prevention'' has been produced following concern from businesses about crime.

The brochure includes material from the UK, the US and Canada, adapted for Bermuda.

It points out that preventing robbers getting an opportunity is the best way to stop a raid happening.

Criminals are generally looking for an easy target, it says. It recommends two male employees should open and close the business each day. And only men should make bank deposits.

They should vary the time and route of their trip to the bank and disguise the deposit bag.

Staff should rigidly enforce rules on access to restricted areas, and check the photo IDs of callers.

Alarms and even video cameras should be installed. And some feature should be set up near the entrance to the building so staff can judge the height of people coming in -- a useful detail in descriptions.

Overnight, floats and company chequebooks should be kept in a safe. Lights should be left on both inside and out.

If a robbery happens, staff should not take unnecessary chances to be a hero.

If there is more than one robber, or if a robber is armed, "it would probably be wiser not to take physical action'', says the brochure.

Instead, staff should pay attention to the robbers, making a mental note of what happens and what the robbers look like.

Observations should be written down as soon as possible after a raid, independently.

Staff may need special counselling after a robbery. "Robbery Prevention'' has been sponsored by Somers Mortgage and Finance. It joins a list of more than a dozen brochures produced by crime prevention officers.

Subjects include business security, cheque forging, counterfeit money, internal theft, shoplifting prevention and advice to crime witnesses and victims.

They are available from Police stations and libraries. Anyone interested can call crime prevention officers on 299-4286.