Members of the St. George's community are stepping forward and asking for something to be done about crime.

Police reported ten burglaries or attempted burglaries in and around St. George's last week. A spokesperson for the Police said that a man is being held in connection with the break-ins.

Last weekend, a Police task force met with members of the St. George's community to discuss the crimes.

Sean Soares, who lives in St. George's, said that he interrupted a break-in in the town early Friday morning.

"I called the Police immediately, and then I called them back a few minutes later to tell them he was still there. Police took over ten minutes to appear even though there is a Police station three minutes walking distance away. He was gone by the time they got there."

"Friday night, I was told a place down the road was broken into, and four places on Water Street were broken into on Saturday. All of that in a three-day period."

Over the past two week, he said that he's seen a group of youths between 11 an 18-years-old hanging out on the street late at night, playing football in the middle of the road.

"This is just up from the Police station," he said. "Nothing is being done about it, and it's getting steadily worse.

"That Police station's just lip service to the people of St. George's. How effective can it be when there's all this ill behaviour right outside. We need a manned Police station that can respond at any time of day."

Mr. Soares also suggested that stores and Police officers should work together to better police the area.

"It's 2009," he said. "There's no reason we couldn't have, if not closed-circuit cameras, Internet cameras in the store windows looking out into the street St. George's has turned into a ghost town, and the criminal element has just stepped right in. It's getting to the point where it's just not safe."

MP Donte Hunt said the increase in crime in St. George's is symptomatic of what is happening throughout the Island.

"This represents a sample of the mayhem that Bermuda is experiencing," he said. "While we see an increase in reports of this nature in the media, the extent of the problem has not been addressed on a community scale.

"We are facing an epidemic in the form of lack of respect for our laws and a total disregard of morality. The most alarming element is not the rise in crime, violence and immorality, but that we're becoming accustomed to our new found reality."

According to Mr. Hunt, the blame for the rise in criminal activity cannot be laid in just one place.

"There is plenty of blame to go around. Some point fingers at the Police, citing inadequate presence and poor response times. The question is to what capacity the St. George's Police Station is able to assist the community and how effective it is.

"Others say its our politicians that have been inactive or slow in terms of enacting laws and policies to stem the tide of crime and violence.

"Some believe that it is the proliferation and ever increasing presence of dysfunctional and unhealthy families and poor parenting.

"There are elements of validity in all of these claims. It's probably safe to say that the blame is rightfully shared"

Mr. Hunt called for the community to take action and get involved in solving the problem, saying:"Bermuda is in desperate need of change. A change that restores our country to a place that shines as a light in this world.

"We all have the ability to enact this type of healthy change. For the sake of our Island, we must make the change that is required. Attend community meetings, get involved. Let's get our communities back."