The Enmity Trophy

The first indication I had that anything was wrong was the insistent wail of sirens.

I had stopped at the Bermuda Perfumery to get some photographs of the Easter lilies and Snapdragons when the first ambulance dopplered past, heading for St. George’s. The noise had barely subsided before another siren could be heard approaching from the west: I looked up to see an unmarked white van go flying by. I frowned in puzzlement, but didn’t think any more of it until another ambulance sped past, this time heading west, accompanied by two police cars. Fifteen minutes later, as I headed home, I passed the roadblock at the end of the Causeway just as a handcuffed youth was being ushered into the back of a patrol car.

The violence that erupted at St. George’s Cricket Club yesterday afternoon, in the middle of the Friendship Trophy soccer match, was unprecedented in recent years. Only nineteen minutes into the game a vicious fight broke out between around forty men armed with knives, machetes, wooden posts and concrete blocks, which quickly spilled onto the pitch. Bystanders reported scenes of horror as the men started “stabbing and chopping”. Three people required hospital treatment. The government’s decision to convene a hasty press conference that evening to condemn the brutality underscored just how serious the incident was.

It’s hard to escape the conclusion that yesterday’s events could have been avoided had the match been properly policed. Uniformed officers only attended the scene after the violence began; by the time they arrived many of the perpetrators had already fled. Yet gang violence at football games is nothing new in Bermuda, albeit never on quite this scale. Less than a month ago the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) decided to scrap its under-17 league because of fighting between rival gangs. Given this, the explanation of Attorney General and BFA president, Larry Mussenden, that “we did not consider this a high-risk game” just doesn’t cut any ice. There should have been a police presence there anyway.

The outrage over Sunday’s incident has been such that the Government and police will almost certainly crack down hard on the perpetrators. It’s also to be hoped that it prompts a tougher approach to tackling violent crime more generally. Bermuda faces particular problems in prosecuting its criminals, not least the difficulty in persuading witnesses to testify and victims to press charges, but it's essential that solutions to these are found. There’s a widespread belief that crime is on the increase and it's a perception that is already starting to damage Bermuda.

Crime is Bermuda’s Achilles heel. Bermuda’s two key industries, tourism and international business, both depend on the Island’s crime rate remaining low. Nothing will scare the tourists and the expats away like tales of machete attacks. It’s time for the Government, the police, and organisations like the BFA to demonstrate in no uncertain terms that violent anti-social behaviour is unacceptable here. The Government and police must adopt a zero tolerance policy to crime instead of just talking about it, and the BFA should reinstate their league with adequate policing (what better way to get all the troublemakers in one place?).

The alternative is to permit this violent minority to drag Bermuda the way of Jamaica.

Comments

[Bill Akin on 06.04.04 at 01:26]

I have been to Jamaica. I think you do a grave disservice to them by equating them with violent yobs. The Jamaicans I met were very kind and treated me as an honoured guest in their country. Do not use such a broad brush when you speak of people you do not know.
Regards, Bill

[Graeme Outerbridge on 06.04.04 at 07:43]

Maybe Bill you had a lucky vacation in Jamaica and it is true that the Blue mountains and many of the Jamacian people are wonderful but it is also true that Jamaica is one of the most violent islands in the West Indies with a huge murder rate born out of poverty and hoplessness.Turn the wrong way or go to the wrong place and you might go home in a coffin and thats if they are lucky enough to find your body.

[Somers on 06.04.04 at 08:30]

It's time for justice to get tough and imaginative. It can't be argued that these men are obviously in need of some serious discipline. Enlist them in the regiment for three years full time service. A tough environment without the freedoms and justices they have taken advantage of, and a place where discipline is doled out in healthy portions. No point locking them up in that drug hotel on the west end for them to hang out with their friends and watch cable TV all day. The regiment could straighten dem byes out, and they could put their chopping techniques to good use come the next hurricane!

[The Limey on 06.04.04 at 09:06]

Bill - While clearly not all Jamaicans are violent yobs, Jamaica does have an extremely high rate of violent crime. Take a look at what the US State Department and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office say about it. Bermuda does not want to end up like that.

[jake on 06.04.04 at 09:59]

Phil,

We have a resource that is well able to support the Police in emergencies such as this: the Bermuda Regiment.

It is time to create a permanent Regimental QRF (Quick Reaction Force) similar in composition to the excellent work done by the PSU (Police Support Unit). These are the more formidable members of the services, trained to deal with security, and to deal with malcontents.

We should no longer report events like Saturday's without a corresponding report on how the yobs were arrested and await trial. The community requires real safety from those who believe that lawlessness is an option. It is not.

[Nitjanirasu on 06.04.04 at 12:57]

In regards to Jamaica, while every Jamaican I've met have themselves been nice, they'll also be the first the tell you about the level of violence (and other crime) in their country.