The arrests of "major players'' in the cycle theft racket appears to have helped Police finally grab hold of a crime that has burgeoned into an Island-wide epidemic over the last five years.

The Royal Gazette understands the average number of bikes lifted from Bermuda's streets each month has fallen by 31 percent through November this year.

And sources say this may be largely due to the busts of at least three "career'' bike thieves.

Commissioner of Police Mr. Colin Coxall yesterday said 1995 bike thefts figures were "looking quite good'' when compared to 1994. But he was hesitant to divulge the figures until they were properly "researched and analysed''.

Police statistics show 1,284 motorcycles were stolen in 1993 and 2,536 -- about 211 a month -- were taken in 1994. It is understood about 1,600 or 145 a month have been stolen between January 1 and November 30, 1995.

Mr. Coxall said he planned to announce his new cycle thefts "detective team'' at a news conference today. He said Assistant Commissioner Mr. Wayne Perinchief, whose position he made redundant last month along with Supt.

George Rose, will no longer be heading it.

Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, detailed how the black market for stolen cycles operated. They said they also wanted to "set the record straight on the morale-sapping'' decision to axe Mr. Wayne Perinchief.

They revealed: An unknown number of illegal "chop shops'' existed around the Island which "contracted out'' for stolen bikes and buy them for $200-$300 a piece; Some thieves are stealing bikes and parts to support drug habits; "Chop shops'' and the "big guys'' are recruiting bike thieves, as young as age 13-15'; Police have destroyed some $1 million in stolen bikes because they were "forgeries'' (their licence plates were stolen or made up and their engine and serial numbers filed down using a hardware-store bought grinder and then replaced with stolen or fake numbers with a number stamp); Some thieves have engine and serial number forgeries down to "a precise art''; and Bike frames are not being shipped off the Island, but are dumped in woodlands.

Popular bike graveyards include the Frog Lane-Bermuda College "jungle'', behind the Warwick rest home, the old US Navy installation at Tudor Hill and the railway trails and tracks.

The sources said owners of "chop shops'', illegal small garages, put the word out that they need a certain part or bike. Drug addicts and seasoned thieves do the jobs themselves or recruit teenagers from primary to high school age and other drug addicts in need of fast cash.

Yamaha V-50 and V-80s are the number-one bikes to steal, followed by City Expresses, because they are "ridiculously easy to steal''. Carburettors, wheels and engines are the most popular parts.

The "chop shops'' strip the bikes and sell the parts, or put a licence plate from an old bike plus its engine and serial numbers onto a newer one and sell it through word of mouth.

Police can catch the forgeries and impound them only when the stolen bike owner goes to the Transport Control Department to re-license the vehicle, although often the bikes are just ridden around unlicensed. TCD will refer a bike owner to Police if they don't have the paperwork or their numbers don't match up.

Police can usually detect forged engine and serial numbers, though it is harder for some motorcycle makes. Two of the alleged cycle thieves arrested by Police are expected to appear in Magistrates' Court soon.

On the issue of Mr. Perinchief, one source said the Force "was his life'', and he had spent years going abroad on courses to improve himself and had built up excellent street connections only to get the boot, which was sure to have "negative social and psychological implications for the Force''.

Mr. Perinchief was not directly in charge of the Cycle Squad or tackling bike thefts, although he was involved via criminal investigations. He was only brought on board by Coxall in September and then met with Cycle Squad several times and drafted a six-page report on the problem after ordering a set of statistics to be compiled.

The Cycle Squad has been Assistant Commissioner Mr. Harold Moniz' charge. The five-member Squad has been run by uniformed members for the last six years since it was switched to a uniformed department, thus losing its detectives.

It is further understood there are growing fears among Police officers that Mr. Coxall plans to significantly downsize and merge the Motorcycle Patrol Section and Cycle Squad as part of his restructuring of the Police Service.

One source pointed to this comment made by Commissioner Coxall in his recently announced Service Strategy: "Over the years great concern has been expressed in several reports (including the Tumim Committee...) of the low level of public satisfaction resulting from the attitude and actions of the Service and in particular the Motorcycle Patrol Section who are perceived to do more damage to the Police reputation than any other department.'' Officers were concerned not only for their jobs but also that cycle thefts and traffic accidents might rage out of control.

But Mr. Coxall said yesterday he currently had no plans to shrink or scrap either of the departments.