Guns, Gangs & a SWAT team the Bermuda Story

Recently, Bermuda has seen and is experiencing a rise in gun related crimes. This rise in gun related crimes are as a result of two basic factors; drugs situation which is an opportunity for disenfranchised youth to make big bucks quickly and the formation and expansion of the island’s gangs. Unfortunately these two dynamics are interrelated; in that the gangs are formed as a means of protecting particular drug turfs, drug pushers and the profits that are associated with the drug trade.

The dynamics of Bermuda drugs situation have experienced dramatic change over the years. The most significant change and the change that will cause a significant increase in the use of guns among the drug community of Bermuda is a simple one. The drug pushing or the vulture community have experienced tremendous numerical grown over the pass years. The vulture community has seen an increased in the number of people who are importing narcotic onto the Island (Bermuda) in its various forms and a rise in the number of people (retail sales people or pusher men/women) who are offering the same for sale on the streets.

However Bermuda population has not experiences significant numerical growth over the same period; and the addicted or the suffering community (which is those members of the population are suffering the pain and indignities of being a drug addict) is not large enough to adequately support all of the people who have chosen to exploit, make slaves and zombies of their fellow citizen. Now they are fighting each other to ensure they get the portion of the drug profits they think they deserves. In other words the Bermuda drug using population is too small to satisfactorily sustain the growing drug dealing community that is doing bottle for the market.

Although the foregone is the main cause of the escalation of the gun related crime in Bermuda, I am going to assure you that unless something is done soon, Bermudian are going to see a drastic increase in the lack of tolerance among the opposing fractions and thus, very trivial occurrences will triggering acts of violence among the gangs which will adversely affect the law abiding community. It will not matter what reasons they will given to justify the expected future acts of violence, one thing we will be aware of is the root cause of such violence, which will be the drug lord’s inability to meet their expected financial target in the time frame specified. We all know that such targets are needed for the drug lords and their cronies, (which includes pushers, corrupt police officers, Customers officers politician and other who benefits from the proceeds of drugs) to live the type of life they have grown accustom to living: the life of glamor.

Now that I have shown you the reasons that are responsible for causing the elevation of the Gun crimes in Bermuda (as it apply to the Bermuda situation) a situation that is now taking over the tranquil island of Bermuda and has trigger an element of concern in the common man and woman of the island as well as the political and other leaders of the land.

This led me to ask a serious question. How has the appointment of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who was appointed to tackle the drug problem working out? What plans and program have he put into place to curb the influx of drugs entering the country, hitting the streets and the crimes that are associated with the use sales and smuggling of the illegal substances into the island of Bermuda.

The unfortunate thing about the Bermuda situation is the fact that those who are appointed to manage the crime situation in Bermuda (the management of the BPS) are at a lost as to what to do and how to tackle the problems that confronts this island.

When one hear the primer suggesting to his constituents (all Bermudian and those who resides there in) that his government is considering implementing a SWAT team to Bermuda, it leads me to asked who is advising the Primer of Bermuda.

What is a SWAT team? A Special Weapon And Tactics team is a group of people who have received specialized training in weapon use and handling and strategic combative policing tactics, who is expected to intervene in serious situation especially hostage and hostile situations involving weapons with minimal lost and injuries to member of the public.

Why would the Bermuda Police Service want a SWAT team, when they already have one? The Emergency Response Team (ERT) is a SWAT team. It may not be call a SWAT team, but their core and continued training are the same training of a swat team. Have you ever saw the ERT in their combative uniform? Their combative uniforms are even more sophisticated than those of super power like the USA and England? So knowing all this, why is the Bermuda Government going to invest good money into building a unit that already existed?

It seems as if the Government of Bermuda is willing to throw good money after implementing something that is already in existence for many years now; the same way they have thrown away good money to employ an Assistant Commissioner of Police who have failed even to maintain the status of Bermuda Drug problem; but after the appointment of the ACP Bermuda have seen a total cave in where policing the Bermuda’s drug problem is concern.

Although the current system under which the ERT function is not emergency oriented, but rather symbolic; although they are SWAT trained and equipped the team is really an after the fact show of force unit. This cause me to asked why is the Government of Bermuda is spending and has spent so much money on the core and continual training of the ERT when base on their present mode of operating, they will never be present to render actual help to the community in the event there is a real emergency that needs their urgent assistance.

Bermuda is already a militant or police community. a greater number of officer on the streets and a new unite in the BPS are not going to serve the problem that now confronts Bermuda. The political and other leaders of Bermuda have got to put their together, brain storm and come up with a plan that matches the unique Bermuda situation. it will also be a waste of time and money for the Government to import another program from the USA, England and Canada because it have seen some success in those parts of the world. The problem that Bermuda now experienced has it own unique characteristic and need a solution that is also unique to Bermuda.