Crates of guns are dropped into Bermuda's waters to be collected by gang members, United Bermuda Party MP Shawn Crockwell claimed yesterday.

Mr. Crockwell said gang problems have become so severe Police are now living in fear of troublemakers and need expert help to get on top of the situation, and an anti-gang task force should also be set up.

He was speaking in a House of Assembly debate over Premier Ewart Brown's motion to take note of the need to crack down on gangs.

The Shadow Transport Minister repeated Government backbencher Wayne Perinchief's claim of rampant corruption within Bermuda Police Service.

He said he disagreed with Sir Richard Gozney's assessment that the allegation was not worthy of a Royal Commission.

Mr. Crockwell applauded Dr. Brown for pledging to take action against gangs with new legislation — and said it was probably 20 years too late.

"Bermuda as a whole did not want to believe we could have yobs, or young men, run on a football field with weapons in pursuit of other young men while a match was going on," he said.

He said Bermuda also did not want to believe shootings would take place on such a regular basis that they were no longer a surprise.

Illustrating the extent of gun crime, he said: "Guns are imported to this country in crates. They are dropped off in the water and someone goes to collect them."

He added: "It is time to get control of this national crisis. I have been puzzled why we haven't seen a unit that's focused on destabilisation of gangs in this country.

"It seems that the Police are in fear of the gangs and we need to reverse that. We need the gangs to be afraid of the Police.

"We have a dearth of leadership and expertise in Bermuda Police Service. We have seen in the last few years a rise in violence, murder, crime and a decrease in prosecution in this country. And that is worrying.

"It's not a criticism that we are not experts in this area. It's a new phenomenon in this country. No one should be offended that we lack the expertise."

He said being a member of a gang should be a criminal offence: legislation which has already been introduced in Australia, Canada and the United States.

"We can't sit back and just hope that these people find Jesus," he said.

Education Minister Elvin James bemoaned declining morals in society, with young people not being made to show good manners any more.

Mr. James said three of the four pillars of society had been eroded: the church, the community and the home. He said the remaining pillar, the school, could not support society on its own.

He said the church in particular teaches vital life lessons, whether or not you believe in God. More people should make an effort to support young people and show them the way to behave, said the Minister.

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said he always thought he lived in a safe neighbourhood in South Shore Warwick, until there was a fatal shooting a quarter of a mile from his home.

Mr. Richards said Police needed to change their approach.

"A number of people in our Police force are text book Policemen," he said. "They spend a lot of time reading text books but don't know the streets.

"You have to have eyes and ears and feet on the streets."

Finance Minister Paula Cox told the House increased gang activity was threatening to undermine the economy, noting that is tarnishing the reputation of Bermuda as a safe Island.

Having recently organised a meeting with a young man affiliated with gangs on the Island she said she came to realise that many of the young men see gangs as a replacement for their family.

She added: "The young man proceeded to almost try and lecture me that there has to be collusion in different areas of the community because guns are coming in, not as whole guns, but in parts and people know about it.

But I know that H.M. Customs is working hard to prevent this and spending large sums of money to get the high tech equipment to find guns."

She added: "This issue strikes right to the heart of the community and what we need to do something to ensure the continued stability of the Island.

"The people of Bermuda may forgive a wrong decision but they will not forgive no decision. During this motion we need to keep an open mind there may be ideas that are off the radar but will help us as a community."

Opposition MP Donte Hunt said broken families were one of the biggest issues facing Bermuda, and one of the reasons for increased gang activity.

He said he believed that young men were looking to gangs to take the place of absentee fathers and urged Bermuda to make paternity leave available to all, to allow fathers to become connected to their child from a young age and help the family unit.

He added: "We need legislation that offers punitive options for poor parenting, with fines and if it was agreed was a period of imprisonment for parents."

Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe interrupted and said Mr. Hunt should wait for the next parliamentary session for forthcoming legislation.

Government MP Michael Scott said he hoped he would soon see a take note motion on the elimination of gangs in Bermuda.

Speaking of gangs on the Island Mr. Scott said: "It appears that they are very organised. There are a number of gangs that are purely for young people, this should be most troubling for Bermuda as they will go on to be the future of gangs.

Mr. Scott said people born in the 1980s and 1990s grew up without proper morals and discipline and it is essential that the community ensure younger generations do not grow up that way.

He said it was important to return to values he had grown up with such as attending church, putting education before other priorities and respecting others, instead of relying on influences from outside of the community.

"This globalised world that we live in pushes these counter-culture behaviours that we never had as kids," said Mr. Scott. "It is the reason why som many awful, poor choices are presented to out community."

Independent MP Wayne Furbert also called for a return to traditional values.

"When your neighbour said no, you know exactly what they meant. You knew there was some disciplinary reaction to your action," said Mr. Furbert. "We have relaxed the discipline in our schools, we have relaxed the discipline in our homes. What do we expect when they're 18, 19, 20?"

Mr. Furbert also called for a change in the police service, "starting at the top."

"We need to make sure the police are on the ball. If they know who (gang members) are, go get them."

Opposition MP John Barritt called for a "line in the sand" to be drawn, including harsher penalties for severe crimes such as the possession of firearms and murder.

"Murder doesn't mean 15 years and the possibility of parole. That's the message we should be sending."

According to Mr. Barritt, the drug problem has reached a point where the drug trade has become a pillar of Bermuda's economy, rivalling tourism, saying: "There are so many hundreds of young males who do not seem to be employed. How are they making their money?"

Mr. Barritt also called for research to help better profile young people at risk of entering the gang lifestyle.

Minister Walter Roban said that many young people are drawn to gangs because of a desire to find a family atmosphere that they may lack, and that violence in the media has desensitised young people to violence.

"Acts of violence seemed to ripple throughout the community for days and weeks. That's the way it seemed to be," said Mr. Roban. "Over the last 20 years or so, we have received much more exposure to media that shows violence to be the norm. I suspect that, in light of our prosperity, our community has an appetite for these things."

While concerned about violence, Mr. Roban reiterated that the disruptive behaviour of a few hundred youths should not tarnish the efforts of Bermuda's positive young people.

Opposition MP Grant Gibbons question the usefulness of the debate, saying: "I think we've recognised for some years we've had these issues. It's the deliberate action that I hoped we'd see more of today."

Mr. Gibbons questioned how effective the current kindergarten system is when it comes to socialising children, and getting them ready for school.

"If you fall behind at an early age, It becomes a frustrating experience. It's difficult to catch up."

He also suggested that the House of Assembly seriously consider extending school hours to end at 5 p.m. "Some charter schools have found to keep them there, and keep them occupied, you don't have the problems of latchkey kids."

He also urged church ministers to get involved in helping solve the gang problem in the Island.

Minister of Energy, Telecommunications & E-Commerce Terry Lister urged Police to step up their efforts.

He said he recently heard of a group of adults having a private party at a sports club who were scared off when a group of youngsters came brandishing guns.

"These were private individuals having a get together and I want to tell you that the Police caught all the young men involved but I can't tell you that. I don't want to live in a Bermuda like that. I want the Police to get on it. I want targeted policing, identify them and arrest them."

Independent MP Darius Tucker urged the Police force to purchase x-ray machines to check for guns in ports and the airport.

"We know who they are, where they stay and what they are doing and we have not done anything about them," he said speaking of the gang members. "This problem did not come up over night, years ago Sir John Swan spoke about young black men being a problem and a lot of people took issue with what he said. Now we are seeing that statement has come true. Maybe if we had listened..."

Government MP Randolph Horton questioned the current figure of 350 gang members being mentions yesterday saying four years ago told the Government there were 550 gang members on the Island: "I find it difficult to believe that it is shrinking, but if it is then thank God."

He added that he was concerned about the state of Bermuda, particularly how brazen the gang members are.

"I was watching that game at Wellington Oval," the former Minister said, speaking of the infamous 2003 incident where gangs of youths armed with machetes, knives, swords and planks of wood launched sickening attacks on each other at a football match. "I thought goodness what are we coming to when we have young men who are prepared, in full transparency, without mask, to come with weapons and fight in front of thousands of people."

He also denounced the "glorification of thug life" on the popular Black Entertainment Television which many young Bermudians watch.

His sentiments were echoed by Opposition MP Charlie Swan, who said: "Certain aspects of gang membership are glorified by our media."

Mr. Swan joined calls for a crackdown on gang members and gang behaviour, suggesting that Bermuda should consider laws outlawing the wearing of gang symbols.

"Some of these things sound draconian, but when you're attacking a problem that you've allowed to fester, that's what you have to do," said Mr. Swan, who also suggested working harder with younger Bermudians to "immunise" them against the draws of gang life.

Dame Jennifer Smith emphasised the role education must play in the fighting of the gang problem.

"It is very difficult to get any employment without a basic education," said Dame Jennifer. "We have to assess the dropout rate of our young boys."

"(Education) is there, but for one reason of another, they have been unable to reach it."

Dame Jennifer also called for men to step forward to lead their communities instead of allowing "boys" to have control.

"They respect authority. They have no respect for weakness," she said.

Opposition MP Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said that she had heard many of the individuals committing the gang related crimes were not Bermudian, but individuals who fly to the Island specifically to perform "dastardly deeds."

"It's no wonder we have frustrated police who can't find them," she said. "The police department is only as competent as the information they get."

According to Ms Gordon-Pamplin, for many youth the threat of gang violence is so real that they carry weapons to defend themselves, saying: "The mentality of gang exposure is so real for them they leave their homes armed."

She also said that parents need to "stand up and pay attention," and called for cooperation between the parties to develop a plan before it reaches the House for debate.

PLP Backbencher Dale Butler proposed that the house consider drastic measures to alleviate the gang problem, suggesting cutting 90 percent of the consultants budget, and putting the money into scholarships.

"Are we serious about gangs, or are we just having a debate and going to bed?

"Cut the travel budget 90 percent too. You can't go sink another oil well, but you can redirect funds. Just examine the thought. We have to examine everything and decide if we made the right decision or not."

Mr. Butler also suggested moving students to create a school with higher standards to encourage students to work harder.

PLP Backbencher Ashfield DeVent dismissed the idea that violence in the media is responsible for the violence on the Island, calling drugs the common thread.

"What we're seeing is young people coming together and their purpose is to make money," said Mr. DeVent. "Some of it's right out of greed. They want to make it quick and easy."

Mr. DeVent also said he believes that many gangs throughout the Island are amalgamating, so that in the future instead of having 17 gangs, we may have only one or two.

While Mr. DeVent supports the use of sports as a means to combat drugs, he said that many gangs have alliances with sports clubs.