to be birched.

He also recommended the birch for robbers who targeted taxi drivers.

Mr. Edness said it should be added to any other penalty meted out by judges, such as hard labour.

"It is time for action,'' he declared, branding bag-snatchers "monsters''.

"The community needs to take a tough stand against these crimes by supporting tough penalties.'' His call follows a wave of bag-snatching and taxi robberies.

Over the weekend, the bag-snatching epidemic -- whose victims are mainly visitors -- continued with three thefts and one bungled attempt.

Taxi drivers have also become targets, causing some to carry weapons, including metal pipes.

In one of the worst recent incidents, a 49-year-old cabbie was stabbed in the neck after picking up two men on Victoria Street.

The driver, who was helped by a passing motorist, was taken to hospital where he received stitches.

Yesterday, Mr. Edness said bag-snatching was an attack on Bermuda's economy because it singled out visitors.

"People don't seem to understand that if we don't have a zero tolerance policy against such crime, that in ten or 15 years we won't have any business here.

"The benches and indeed politicians need the support and trust of society to apply the birch and other deterrents.'' He added: "Purse-snatching is a cowardly crime where young men, probably driven by a need for money to buy drugs, sneak up behind an unsuspecting woman.

"That's the kind of crime where they should be birched. It is cowardly and has the potential to destroy our economy.

"Why should people come to Bermuda if this happens to them? News about purse-snatching will spread around North America in a hurry, and that is what these monsters are doing to our economy.'' Mr. Edness -- a former opponent of corporal punishment -- said the birch should be tacked on to other punishments, including prison, fines and hard labour.

"This wouldn't need a change in the law, because the birch is already on the statute books.

"It just needs the magistrates or judges to order it to be administered.'' Mr. Edness believed there was public backing for the birch.

"That is the feedback I've been getting from people. You only have to listen to talk shows, and you will hear that is what people want. They are tired of this type of crime.'' When Mr. Edness first suggested bringing back the birch last month, he provoked a strong response from the Opposition.

Shadow Health and Social Services Minister Renee Webb branded him a "barbarian''.

"He should be ashamed of himself -- violence is on the increase in Bermuda and it's a travesty for a Government minister to advocate violence like the beating of adults. Violence begets violence and that's a fact.'' Ms Webb said the birch -- like capital punishment for murder -- was not a deterrent from crime.

She added Government had already sanctioned the beating of children under the new Education Act.

And she accused the United Bermuda Party of failing to introduce more humane anti-crime measures like prison rehabilitation schemes.

JAIL JAL