The community of St. George's is banding together to combat crime through a Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

More than 80 people have already expressed an interest and it is hoped to roll out eight groups throughout the East End.

Five are already active and will be operational as early as next week, according to Alderman Beau Evans, of the Corporation of St. George's.

A meeting of the Corporation's newly-created Security Committee on Saturday morning attracted 35 people, with another 40 expressing an interest but unable to attend.

Committee chairman Mr. Evans said: "Neighbourhood Watch is a new initiative and the response so far is that people are very behind it, we've had lots of positive feedback."

He said numbers had exceeded expectations.

"Our original objective was to have six groups, but as we get up and running we expect to have about eight in the next couple of months.

"We are having another meeting in two weeks and our objective is to get around 100 people involved."

The meeting on Saturday was also attended by the Southside Police Community Action Team.

Mr. Evans said: "We explained to people how the Neighbourhood Watch groups work and got everyone's contact information, so we could assign them to different groups."

Members will not only report any suspicious activity to Police but will log incidents onto a dedicated website, set up by the Corporation in partnership with the St. George's Chamber of Commerce and businesses in the town.

It is hoped this will assist the Police and community in identifying any underlying trends.

"The idea of Neighbourhood Watch is that members keep their eyes open to any illegal activities. They report anything unusual to their group leader and also log it onto the web page," said Mr. Evans.

"From there it joins other information from other groups, so if there is a trend of any kind, we have the information."

He said: "Crime is an issue. We just don't want it to get out of hand, we want to nip it in the bud.

"Our real objective is to get the Police Station open 24/7 but as we work towards that, and making St. George's crime-free, the Neighbourhood Watch groups will be an important piece of the jigsaw.

"If we get 100 people involved then it will be like having 100 Police officers on the ground."

He said: "The Neighbourhood Watch groups will be active as early as next week."

Rising crime in St. George's is also being tackled by the Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA), which is drawing up a regeneration action plan for the town.

BDA Senator Michael Fahy said party members have been meeting members of the public for the past six weeks to discuss issues of concern.

"St. George's is becoming the 'dead zone' of Bermuda. You see shops and restaurants closing and so we want to know why," said Mr. Fahy.

"We are meeting with individuals to get ideas for the regeneration of St. George's and will be putting together a comprehensive plan sometime next month.

"We are working with the Chamber of Commerce, the Corporation and other stakeholders, and it will cover crime, economic regeneration, incentives for shopkeepers and other issues."

He said: "Crime is one of the biggest concerns. St. George's has been suffering from criminal activity for some time now but has largely been ignored.

"Although the Police say they don't think a fully-operational Police Station is a necessity, we feel it should be fully-operational, to give people a sense that there is care in the community there."

St. George's North MP Dame Jennifer Smith was off-Island and unavailable for comment last night.

Opposition Leader and MP for St. George's West, Kim Swan, said: "Since the Police Station has been renovated it hasn't been functional 24/7 but our hope is that with the new Mayor (Kenneth Bascome) and the new administration in the Police, these type of discussions can move forward."

Commenting on the Neighbourhood Watch scheme, he said: "I think that's a wonderful idea. We have always said how important community policing is so if you can galvanise the community in that way and pair them up with designated community Police officers, that's a step in the right direction, because it is a two-way street."