VIOLENCE seems to occur more regularly than it did in the past, says police veteran Carlton Adams.

"On a daily basis," the chief inspector says, "we see people who seem unable to resolve the simplest of disputes by talking to one another.

Comment: as you cause / promote most of the disputes, the subject is one about which you can speak with some authority.

"And it goes from the workplace to the domestic environment all the way down to the schools - violence is occurring right across the spectrum."

Mr. Adams, a police officer for 29 years who in now in charge of Prospect's major incident room, says traditional values, such as the respect of people for one another, have eroded.

"That has led to all kinds of complications. There is no fear of consequences in some people's minds; making the point through a violent act seems to be more important than trying to resolve it in a reasonable manner."

There is a little regard for repercussions - even the prospect of a jail sentence fails to deter some. "The widespread use of drugs appears to have removed inhibitions from people's minds."  Drugs tend to minimize the violent act in the mind of the perpetrator, making it easier for them to carry it out.

"There is nothing to restrain people anymore and self-restraint is out of the window; no one feels the need for that anymore because of drug and alcohol abuse."

Comment: Carlton Adams idea of 'restraint' is oppression, bullying.

Today, much more so than when Mr. Adams first started policing, officers are aware of the "potential for violence," whether they are called to a domestic conflict or public disturbance, or simply writing a ticket.

Comment: it's a shame he could not think like this when considering discipline issues.  Instead he promoted discord with trumped up charges, causing conflict / distress.  Adams - play to the press, tell them what you think they want to hear, what sounds reasonable.  His comments are another example of a two-faced personality.  He breeds contempt for senior officers and ensures the lower ranks are destabilised.  Part of the problem. not the solution.

"The perpetrators of violence are not being sent clear messages about the consequences.  I don't think enough is being done to teach people alternative ways of expressing disagreement or dissatisfaction or how to resolve disputes."  Traditional values "seem to have been pushed to the back burner" and it is the responsibility of the entire community to reinstate their importance.

And what are the consequences if violence is not checked? "There will be a detrimental effect on tourism, a lowering of the level of safety that local residents feel and the prisons, which are reputedly very near to full, will end up with larger numbers of people serving long sentences for violent acts, at great cost to the tax payer."

And, worst of all, "Bermuda as we know it will have been changed irreversibly, and become more like some inner city in North America, where people have to carry firearms for their own protection or lock themselves into their houses."