Bermuda ‘No Go Areas’?

In the 1980’s there were three known ‘no go’ areas for a Bermuda bobby assigned to the capital, Hamilton:

• Court Street
• Middle Town
• ‘St Monica’s Mission’ a.k.a. 47th Street

Really!  On this tiny island the criminals had the upper hand, struck fear into the hearts of locals and seemingly police officers, establishing their own territories.

Court Street ran directly from Front Street, the main tourist haunt, where the cruise ships docked.  Middletown,  at the ‘back’ of Court Street, a little to the East, the opposite end to Front Street (beyond some ‘crack houses’) and St. Monica’s … well., that was sufficiently far not to trouble other than wayward tourists and comprised a scattering of homes that simply had a bad reputation … for whatever reason.

A 1980’s bobby, intent on policing the island, was referred to the 1973 assassination of the island’s Governor, Sir Richard Sharples, and his aide-de-camp, Captain Sayers. Just over a decade on, in the 1980’s, caution was to be exercised as tensions could run high again.

Fast forward to 2024 and unsurprisingly, Middle Town (Lane) is in the news again … mutliple shootings!

Is the island being policed?

For more information about the 1973 murders – ‘Justice Denied’ – Bermuda s Black Militants, the Third Man, and the Assassinations of a Police Chief and Governor by Mel Ayton.

Bermuda map source: On The World Map