Bermudian residents expressed concern yesterday over why Hamilton's Closed Circuit Television system (CCTV) failed to deter the most recent case of handbag snatching.

Just before midnight on Monday, a motorcycle-mounted thief snatched a woman's handbag from her on Front Street. The woman tried to fight off the offender with an umbrella but was unsuccessful and left suffering with swollen thighs and knuckle-abrasions.

Police have so far refused to say whether the cameras caught the robbery on film.

The Royal Gazette took to the streets yesterday to find out what people thought about CCTV and its apparent inability to deter criminals.

One lady said she did not know there was a camera system watching the city's streets and, when asked whether or not the cameras were deterring crime, she replied: "Well, obviously they're not.'' She said a co-worker recently had her handbag snatched "in broad daylight'' and suggested replacing the cameras with Police foot patrols.

A Bank of Bermuda employee, who wished to remain anonymous, was suspicious of Police's reluctance to comment on whether CCTV had caught the robbery.

"It makes it a little bit more questionable whether they're doing what they're supposed to be doing,'' she said.

"It would help if they were giving people a little more confidence,'' she added.

The majority of people who spoke to The Royal Gazette agreed with her comments.

Logic Communications' Shaun Tucker said: "They put them up and they should make the streets safe. That's what (the cameras) are for.

"Mind you, everybody hides something -- (Police) could be doing the same thing.'' But Ann Kennedy, of the law firm Ann Cartwright-DeCouto, defended Police and supported their reluctance to comment.

"It's not really imperative for everyone to know that information,'' she said.

But another woman who did not wish to be named said that she thought that Police telling the public that the cameras had caught crime on film would deter criminals.

"I think, if they release the information, they won't have too many more crimes,'' she said.