A call for tougher penalties for thugs who target tourists was yesterday ruled out by Public Safety Minister Paula Cox.

And Ms Cox pointed out that judges already have discretion to vary sentences -- and can opt to give tourist-related crimes tougher punishments than those against residents.

Ms Cox said: "With certain crimes, there is always a tariff in terms of the community disfavour in regard to judges having discretion and a range of sentencing powers.'' But she dismissed the possibility of a more formal approach to stiffer penalties for those who attack visitors.

And she hinted that a major policy statement on ways to curb violence and "promote a better environment'' may be in the offing.

Ms Cox added that a better way to tackle crimes against visitors was a grassroots bid to improve behaviour across the board.

She said: "There is a recoiling from the fact that we seem not to be as nice as community as we used to be -- what we do in our back yard comes out in the open eventually.

"What we do to fellow citizens is now spilling over into how we treat our tourists.

"We have to get back to basics and have respect for law and order generally.

"When we treat our own citizens better in terms of crime, that will spill over into the way we treat our visitors.'' Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell branded attacks on tourists as "crimes against the economy'' after a 29-year-old US man was mugged earlier this week and ended up in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital with a suspected fractured skull.

And Mr. Dodwell called for higher fines and stiffer sentences to discourage tourist-related crime.

Mr. Dodwell stressed that he did not mean that crimes against residents were less serious.

But he insisted the impact of crime against visitors hit not just the victim, but the prosperity of the entire Island and sentencing should reflect that.

Shadow Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley, however, distanced himself from Mr. Dodwell's stance.

And he called for tougher penalties all round for crimes of violence -- irrespective of the victims' place of origin.

Tourism crimes Mr. Dunkley said: "I don't want to differentiate between penalties for crimes against visitors or crimes against locals. When you look at the broader picture, it doesn't matter who it's against.'' He accepted that tourism was vital to Bermuda -- and that crimes against visitors would damage the Island's image.

But Mr. Dunkley said: "I would go a step further than Mr. Dodwell -- we should get tough on all crimes.

"I'm not for throwing the book at people without due process and good reason -- but people have to be responsible for their actions and I favour the `three strikes and you're out' method used in other countries.'' And he also called for greater use of creative sentencing like community service.

Mr. Dunkley said: "I'm all for getting tough but there are right ways and wrong ways of being tough. People should be punished, but they should also learn from their mistakes and they need to learn to get ahead after that.'' Yesterday Acting Senior Magistrate Edward King said judges should be left to decide on punishments without outside pressure.

He said: "The law should be equal for all men -- tourists or locals. A magistrate should not think in these terms.

"Whenever he gives a sentence it should be what he thinks the matter warrants.'' Mr. King echoed Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Vic Richmond, who earlier resisted demands to treat crimes against tourists differently from locals.

CRIME CRM