and violent crimes and used them to imply that general crime figures are not, as claimed, in decline. The truth is that crime figures are significantly in decline but that, coincidentally, but only coincidentally, Bermuda has had some highly publicised crimes. Clearly the deaths of Lynae Brown and Rebecca Middleton could not have been prevented by the best Police force in the world.

The fact is that crimes that are no longer taking place do not get individual publicity. It is the old story. The cats that do not get stranded in trees do not get in the news.

Let's take a brief look at cycle thefts. Remember that a short while ago, cycle thefts were virtually taken for granted and just barely treated as a crime. It was hardly worth reporting a theft given the attention it received.

As a result, the cycle thefts continued to grow.

In September, 1995, 202 cycles were stolen -- the equivalent of 47 a week or seven a day. In September, 1996 that was down to 69 in the month, 16 a week or two a day. At the height of the cycle theft epidemic, 1994, 2,482 were stolen and about half, 1,225, recovered. In 1996, 1,008 were stolen and, again, about half, 508, recovered. The interesting figure, of course, is the huge decline in actual thefts.

Now it seems that cooperation between the Police and Colonial Insurace on a new and highly technical marking system for cycles has a real chance of making cycle thefts a rarity. Aside from a lack of thefts, that should lead to a welcome decrease in cycle insurance rates.

Despite all the destructive complaining about the Police Service and some very obvious attempts to discredit senior officers and the Service, crime is down and Bermuda is a safer place for residents and for visitors. Is it as safe as we would all like it to be? Of course not, but it is a great deal safer than it was only a few short years ago.

Such incidents as armed masked men robbing visitors in their hotel rooms can destroy the Country, but no amount of Police Force policing in a tourist resort can prevent each of these incidents if people are determined to carry them out.

The Police cannot be expected to guard every hotel room or be on the scene when every incident occurs in an area like the Washington Mall.

What the Police can do -- and in this they are becoming increasingly successful -- is be on the scene quickly and be in a position to make arrests quickly. That is the best deterrent to crime that the Police can provide.

What the Police cannot do is solve the social problems that are the root causes of robberies of visitors in their hotel rooms and child-on-child crimes. The first may be rooted in the drug problems which we share with the world but are working so hard to solve and the second we see as little more than kids who need some discipline having a bash at their peers.

Bermudians must be careful not to be overly influenced by those who bash the Police out of one side of their mouths and then, out of the other side, complain about crime. Things are better but the Police need all the help they can get. Good policing can only be done on a community basis. We have to do it together.