‘No-go areas a thing of the past’

We have come a long way from our ‘darkest days’ in the fight against gangs, according to Deputy Commissioner Paul Wright.

Areas previously blighted by the gunfire of warring factions are now some of the strongest communities, said Mr Wright.

The new Deputy Commissioner told the Sun that although police could not afford to take their foot off the gas in the fight against gangs, a new focus was required to tackle perennial problems like road safety and anti-social behaviour.

He added:  “In 1985, Bermuda had a very different police service.

“In some neighbourhoods we were not made to feel welcome and we did not make the effort to build relations with people in the community.

“I remember reversing into some neighbourhoods in the jeep with shutters down because of the rocks and the bottles.

“And these are the same neighbourhoods today that, together with the help of all stakeholders, we have built community actions groups and neighbourhood watch groups.

“We have campaigned on the door steps of these neighbourhoods to forge much better relations and understand perennial problems.

“There are no ‘no-go’ zones for police today.

“The ones people previously talked about are some of our strongest communities because the people in these neighbourhoods have come together.”

Mr Wright was sworn in just last month as Deputy Commissioner, taking over from Mike Jackman.

He had spent the previous three years in charge of community policing and believes that community relations are stronger than ever now.

He said: “There are plans for more community engagement through schemes like GREAT where officers go into the schools.

“And there are plans afoot to resurrect the police bus.

“There is a lot of interest now and a lot more energy as the spectre of gang violence starts to hopefully dissipate.

“There are lots of opportunities for us, not to take our foot off the gas with gangs and guns, but to tackle other prominent problems like anti-social behaviour in neighbourhoods that still have issues, even if the overt gang activity is not at the level it once was.”

Mr Wright added: “When policed do operations in gang-blighted neighbourhoods they are focused and targeted on people that are misbehaving.

“We don’t go into these areas because of how people look or what they wear.

“We go there to deal with problem behaviours.

“We know who these people are because people are sharing community intelligence with us.

“We are more accountable and better in tune with what the community wants us to do than ever before.”

Mr Wright acknowledged that while the allure of gang membership may still exist in Bermuda the level of tit-for-tat attacks had dropped significantly since 2009 and 2010.

He told the Sun that now was an opportunity for police to reassess and build on their success.

He said: “From a statistical point of view we are a long way from our darkest days in terms of tit-for-tat attacks.

“There is still gang violence around – there is still evidence that gangs control and have access to guns.

“But there is not the levels of gang against gang attacks.

“The cycle of retribution and surrogates taking up the fight for others is not at the levels it once was.

“The gang activity is not as organized now as it once was. This is due to a combination of factors from young men being locked up for the rest of their young lives, which sends a powerful message, and a number of people have fled the country or been killed.

“That is not to say there is not still the allure for gang life amongst some young people.

“The challenge for the country is to create awareness of the opportunities outside gangs for young people.”