offenders, a Magistrate said this week.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis was speaking as he gave homeless Colin Eve a conditional discharge for 12 months after he admitted a charge of trespassing at a rest home in St. George's.

Mr. Francis said: "This is a clear example of the sort of problem we have -- we don't have anything in our laws or institutions, it seems to me, to deal with this sort of person.'' Eve, 46, admitted trespassing on the grounds of St. George's Rest Home on Tuesday.

Police prosecutor Sgt. Anthony Mouchette told Magistrates' Court that Eve suffered from psychiatric problems.

Mr. Francis said: "The Police evidence before me says that the man has a psychiatric problem -- but it's evident to me that he doesn't fit into the category of St. Brendan's or anywhere else so he is arrested and brought before me.

"It's the seventh or eighth time he has trespassed on the property of this rest home, which doesn't want him.'' Eve, who seemed not to follow the court proceedings, told the court that he was a self-employed gardener and yard cleaner, gave his address as "Hamilton and St. George's Police stations'' and appeared to claim that he had been working at the rest home.

Mr. Francis said that the old offence of wandering abroad had been struck from the books and the courts had fallen back on the offence of trespass to deal with the kind of offence committed by the accused.

He added: "But regardless of what it's called, when it comes before me I have to try and come up with a sentence which makes some kind of sense and does what sentencing is supposed to do -- prevent, deter, correct or rehabilitate in some sort of way.'' Passing sentence, Mr. Francis told the accused: "I just hope that you understand this. I'm giving you a conditional discharge. What I'm saying to you is `stay away from St. George's Rest Home premises'.''