Police are seeking greater community partnerships in tackling anti-social behaviour in North Hamilton.

Officers want residents to lobby their MPs to demand rehabilitation schemes for offenders but also want to see improved communication.

The Community Action Team in North Hamilton is currently reaching out to community groups such as sports club and churches, to find out what the problems are and how to solve them.

Sergeant Alex Rollin of the Central Community Action Team said residents and businesses were concerned about anti-social behaviour in the area and men hanging around the streets.

He told a meeting of Pembroke Parish Council: "We've been talking with a number of stakeholders, from Belco to BIU, and we're going to push these guys away. But we need programmes put in place.

"There's a number of individuals associated with drugs and we're going to convict them, but after that it's up to the courts, probation officers and the community so these guys can get the help they need."

Sgt Rollin said: "Write to your MP and your church. We need to push the issue of rehabilitation and education. Let's get everyone involved."

He said the Bermuda Police Service's new Island-wide focus on community policing went beyond enforcement to look at the root cause of problems.

"It is looking at why people are hanging out on the street corner, drinking, and selling drugs, to get to the root of the problem," he said. "It's getting stakeholders together and everyone involved, to get programmes in place."

Sgt Rollin said that in Middletown, Police not only faced anti-social behaviour but hostility from residents.

"We encounter as much resistance from some of the residents as we do the people on the street. We take as much abuse from some of them," he said.

"We take a lot of flak such as bottles and rocks thrown at us."

He said residents also helped drug dealers to hide their stash.

"We are finding the residents are aiding and abetting the drug users," he said. "We know residents are being used for stashing of drugs and money.

"When we show up sometimes these people don't have drugs on them or within 100 yards of them."

He said one way for people to tackle criminality was to start an 'anti-social behaviour diary'.

"Make a note of who is there (in the street), what time it is and what they are doing.

"Then at the end of six months hand it over to me and we can look at who these people are," he said.

"This is a tool to empower the community."

Street intervention meetings were another option.

"We can have a street meeting and sit in the street, and it sends a strong message to the drug dealers that we're not going anywhere," said Sgt Rollin.

Denny Richardson, president of the Leopards Club, said anti-social behaviour also plagued the corner of Dundonald Street and Cedar Avenue.

"There's a steady indulgence of alcohol and drugs in the little park by the Blind Society," said Mr. Richardson. "People are afraid to come to the Leopards Club.

"We had our place broken into two nights in a row. It's tragic because we have a fine establishment and we want to grow. But the blind people come in the morning and have to stumble over bottles. That's not fair."

Erica Smith, Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation EEZ (Economic Empowerment Zone) project leader, told the meeting: "We can create a beautiful environment and incentives to drive business in North-East Hamilton, but if we don't have a programme in place to address the social issues on the street we will not make those strives.

"What do we do about the anti-social behaviour in north-east Hamilton and how do we address it?"

She said there needed to be more social assistance.

"It's about putting in place access to jobs and training, and counselling if there's issues with drugs or alcohol. We're really looking at this with a whole holistic approach."

William Spriggs, EEZ consultant, said a greater push was needed to rid Court Street of anti-social behaviour.

"It needs to be sooner rather than later," he said. "We are engaged with stakeholders like the National Training Board, the Police and other individuals with a vested interest at stake in seeing that any anti-social behaviour is eliminated.

"The idea is to have structures and mechanisms so there are training opportunities and so that people are accepted into the community to lead responsible lives.

"If there are others who refuse to budge we are going to have to deal with them, but if we can get the stakeholders on the table I think that in the next six to nine months we could see some real value coming into the Zone."

Inspector Leroy Haynes said: "We are starting to get officers back on the beat and are getting back up there.

"Every time officers come on duty they are assigned specific beats. They have to interact with not only the people walking the street but the shop owners and community.

"We've got to get up there and take the streets back, that's what it's all about. Community policing is all about partnerships. Our job is to find the root of these problems and deal with it.

"We are really pushing this issue of cooperation. We've got churches and football groups such as Dandy Town. It's about coming together to get these problems sorted.

"We're trying to get back to old-style policing. We are now going to the 'whys'. It's a partnership approach to problem solving."

He added: "There will be officers on the beat, and not only in Court Street, but in Middletown and 42nd Street."