VZCZCXRO5711
RR RUEHHT
DE RUEHHT #0016/01 0222053
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 222053Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL HAMILTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3992
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0021
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0004
RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU 0010
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0946
RUEHHT/AMCONSUL HAMILTON 2170

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HAMILTON 000016 
 
SIPDIS, SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR INL; 
EUR/WE (J. MARBURG); 
EUR/PPD (L. MCMANIS AND A. PIPKIN); 
USUNNY/RSO (T. SEARS AND S. EMERS); 
BRIDGETOWN FOR J. SYLVESTER; 
NASSAU FOR R. ETZLER; 
LONDON FOR R. HUBER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC KCRM CASC PREL SOCI BD
SUBJECT: BERMUDA: FBI GANG TRAINING A SUCCESS 
 
REF: A. HAMILTON 11 
     ¶B. 2009 HAMILTON 149 
     ¶C. 2009 HAMILTON 101 
 
Summary 
 
¶1.      (SBU)  The FBI and the Government of Bermuda (GOB) have 
begun a partnership to address the spike in gang-related violent 
crime in Bermuda, which has seen five shooting deaths in under 
twelve months.  FBI personnel conducted two days of gang 
training on January 5-6 for sixty police and prosecutors, 
assessed the gang strategy of the Bermuda Police Service (BPS), 
and engaged in consultations with Governor Sir Richard Gozney 
and the Minister for Labor, Home Affairs and Housing, Lt. Col. 
David Burch.  The FBI commended the police for effectively and 
efficiently addressing the gang problem to date and for 
recognizing the need for additional specialized training.  The 
FBI made several recommendations, including the formation of a 
multi-member, government-wide task force to address the gang 
problem.  Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva and Minister Burch 
are likely to follow up the on-Island training with visits to 
gang task forces in Washington and New York at the invitation of 
the FBI in the near future.  End summary. 
 
 
 
Bermuda Requests FBI Assistance 
 
¶2.      (SBU) In October 2009, Paul Wright, Assistant 
Commissioner of Police for Serious Crime and Intelligence, 
approached AMCONGEN Hamilton about how the BPS could obtain 
specialized training from U.S. gang experts in order to better 
address the current spike in gang-related violence in Bermuda 
(REFTELS).  Post's subsequent follow-up with INL and the office 
of the Legal Attachi Bridgetown resulted in a two-man contingent 
from the Safe Streets Gang Unit at FBI HQ traveling to Bermuda 
with the LEGAT and Assistant LEGAT to provide gang training to 
60 police and prosecutors and to consult with top officials. 
 
FBI Finds that Bermuda Police are on the Right Track 
 
¶3.       (SBU)  The FBI team met with Governor Gozney, who is 
the U.K.'s representative on the Island and who has overall 
control of internal security, and Minister Burch both before and 
after the January 5-6 training.  The Governor and Minister 
thanked the FBI and AMCONGEN Hamilton for their support.  In a 
follow-up letter to Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva on 
January 20, Legal Attachi John Sylvester commended the BPS for 
being proactive in recognizing and addressing the upsurge in 
gang violence and for seeking the advice and best practices of 
other agencies more experienced in tackling gang violence. 
Sylvester noted that the BPS is already effectively and 
efficiently addressing the increase in gang violence, especially 
with respect to intelligence gathering on each gang and 
identification of the major leaders.  "Your intelligence product 
was exceptional and provided the information necessary to 
immediately begin targeting specific gang leaders for arrest and 
conviction.  Your increased police presence in gang areas, 
community policing efforts, and use of intelligence to target 
individual gang members are the same techniques that have been 
successfully implemented in the U.S." 
 
FBI Recommends Government-wide Task Force 
 
¶4.      (SBU) The FBI made several recommendations to improve 
Bermuda's response to gang violence.  First, it proposed the 
establishment of a coordinated, government-wide task force 
involving the police, customs, immigration, probation and 
parole, prisons, prosecutors and the public to obtain positive 
results and decrease gang violence.  In particular it noted that 
immigration and corrections personnel have a large amount of 
gang intelligence to be shared.  Second, the FBI team said that 
embedding attorneys in the task force would help ensure that 
adequate evidence is collected during the investigative phase of 
the case to ensure successful prosecution.  Similarly, it 
suggested embedding corrections personnel in the task force A) 
to prepare the prisons for an increase in prisoners and problems 
with housing inmates from different gangs in one prison and B) 
to ensure that intelligence collected by the police is passed to 
correction officials before they are incarcerated and vice 
versa.  In a January 21 meeting with the Consul General, 
Governor Gozney stated that he expected the GOB to implement 
 
HAMILTON 00000016  002 OF 002 
 
 
those recommendations.  The FBI also recommended that police 
notify immigration officials about individuals of interest so 
that when departing/entering Bermuda, the individuals could be 
subjected to more thorough investigation to gather intelligence 
and to intercept guns and drugs.  Finally, it recommended that 
Bermuda review its legislation to make sure that it correlates 
with the BPS' crime-fighting strategy.  It mentioned the use of 
wire taps and informants specifically.  The Governor commented 
that he was aware that Bermuda law enforcement would like the 
legislative protection and acknowledged that currently the law 
is silent on this issue. 
 
Next Steps:  Continued Cooperation between FBI and BPS and the UK 
 
 
 
¶5.      (SBU) We regard the January gang training as only a 
first step in helping Bermuda deal with gang violence and look 
forward to working in partnership with the BPS in that effort, 
including a proposed visit by Minister Burch and Commissioner 
DeSilva to FBI HQ for a follow-up meeting and visits with gang 
task forces in Washington, DC and New York.  Gozney told CONGEN 
that he was very pleased with the involvement of the FBI in the 
anti-gang effort and supported the FBI's recommendations.  He 
also noted that four retired U.K. police officers will arrive 
this week to be part of the investigation team for the murders. 
In addition, the Governor expressed concern that there is an 
insufficient number (30-35) of BPS officers qualified to handle 
firearms.  To meet this need, the BPS is exploring the 
possibility of bringing to the Island for six months twenty 
firearms-qualified U.K. police officers to boost the 
capabilities of local police. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
¶6.       (SBU) Although Bermuda is a well-developed country, it 
is facing a crisis in public safety brought about by the surge 
in gangs and gun-related violence.  Although the BPS, with the 
support of the Governor and Minister of Labor, Home Affairs and 
Housing, has rallied to meet the problem, it recognized the need 
for specialized assistance, which it sought and received from 
the FBI.  The GOB has already begun to implement some of the FBI 
recommendations, and future cooperation between the two 
organizations seems assured.  The Consulate wants to express its 
appreciation for the invaluable assistance the FBI has provided 
and looks forward to continuing this partnership. 
SHELTON