Official statistics on crime in Cuba are hard to locate and often outdated. However, they are revealing.

According to a study by the Forensic Medicine Institute, homicides have increased in recent years. In Havana province, 15 of every 100,000 residents were murdered in 1994.

Violent deaths account for 10 percent of all deaths every year and rose from 623 in 1980 to 1,085 in 1991. Some Cuban sociologists blame the decline on the standard of living, on social bias and on the deterioration of the health-care system.

``Desperation is to blame,'' said Hector, a 34-year-old refrigeration technician in Havana, who asked that his surname not be printed. ``Young people are losing their fear of the police. Necessity is stronger than fear.''

Prostitution has become another source of crime, because growing numbers of streetwalkers are turning to pimps for protection. Violence over ``turf'' and women is never far behind.

In an effort to counteract the wave of crime, the Cuban government has launched an ideological offensive to restore revolutionary values. It's also conducting repressive operations ``to set an example.''

On the ideological front, the government has revived institutions such as the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, a paramilitary group created in 1993 ``to unconditionally defend the revolution.''

The association, which includes some 300,000 army veterans and soldiers on active duty, recently announced that it would open its ranks to the children of military men and women, so they could join a national campaign of vigilance against crime.

Other elements of the war on crime are the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, ideological sentinels who can be found in practically every city block. During the committees' quadrennial congress last month, the urban watchdogs declared total war on robbery, prostitution and petty crime.

Addressing the congress, President Fidel Castro described the street guardians as ``the most powerful force we have for this battle.''