The man implementing wide-ranging reforms under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) hopes they should be fully in place by next year.Mark Crampton, a former senior officer from the UK, is managing the four-phase introduction of the legislation, which was passed by Parliament in December 2005.The first three phases are in place, but the final one, which was anticipated to come in after Hamilton’s new police station opened on June 11, is still pending.Asked for an update Mr Crampton said a number of key issues still need to be resolved, including the support of good-quality custody sergeants and implementing a new IT system.“It would be unwise to undertake phase four until all these dependencies and infrastructures are in place. I would guess [that will be] the end of this year some time, or maybe spring next year,” he said.PACE, which was enacted in the UK in 1984, was brought in to replace the antiquated Judge’s Rules which used to govern the way the Bermuda Police Service investigated crime and interacted with the public.It modernises arrest and detention procedures, the searching of people and properties and the questioning of suspects. The first three phases have been subject to a number of amendments to “Bermudianise” the UK-based law.Phase one means that fingerprints, photographs and DNA are now taken as a matter of course from suspects arrested for “recordable offences”. Recordable offences are those for which a person could get a term of imprisonment if convicted.High-tech fingerprinting machines have already been brought into police stations to replace the old “ink and roller” method. These allow the better quality prints to be stored as digital files.It also makes the use of video identification parades mandatory, replacing the old-style line ups.Phase two gave officers new powers to stop and search suspects, including the right to ask them to remove items of clothing.This was one of the areas that prompted an amendment to help it fit Bermuda better. The amendment added bike helmets to the list of items police can ask people to remove during a search, in addition to their gloves, coat and outer jacket.Phase three covers the searching of premises and new guidelines concerning search warrants, allowing a police inspector to authorise the searching of a property when a person has just been arrested.Another change has seen audio-recorded police interviews replaced by videotaped interviews. DVDs of these interviews have already played a key role in recent Supreme Court trials.Phase four had to wait until the new police station was finished, which was supposed to have been in August 2010, but ran overdue and opened last month. The old one did not have the facilities needed to address changes to the way people are treated in custody.Another aspect was an amendment passed by Parliament last month making provisions to ensure suspects who are drunk or under the influence of drugs can be detained until they fully sober up and are in a fit state to understand charging and bailing decisions.Phase four brings in new limits for the amount of time people can he held for questioning before they are charged, and raises the standard of care of people in custody. It is anticipated that the guidelines under this section of the act will significantly reduce the amount of time people spend in police custody.Officers will have a limited number of hours to interview a detainee from the moment they arrive at a police station. It will usually be 42 hours although that can be extended by high-ranking police officers or the courts to up to 96 hours for very serious offences.Mr Crampton said: “The first three phases are fully operational. There’s 102 sections in PACE, and 33 sections are still remaining to come into effect under phase four. This is the most challenging of the phases in terms of the infrastructure that has to be in place before this part of PACE can come in.“The police station was a welcome step forward in moving towards phase four. We now have the facilities in Hamilton which are PACE-compliant. That was a big milestone; there’s still a bedding-in period with the new custody facility, but we are running it with the spirit of phase four.”He added: “We were waiting for various changes to the UK version of PACE following recent court rulings. We in Bermuda are closely watching any changes made by the UK parent act.”Mr Crampton said the codes of practice that form part of phase four have now been finalised, and a draft version has gone to stakeholders for consultation. The completion of that process will be “another significant hurdle” overcome.However, he said: “There are challenges that lie ahead in terms of staffing. We need good-quality custody sergeants to carry out PACE training, and having the right calibre is very important. The next phase is training and selecting them.”Mr Crampton said the police are also installing a new IT system, including a custody IT system, which should be in place by the end of the year. This is also required before phase four can come in.“We are chipping away at these challenges to make sure we’re good to go. It is imperative that systems, processes, training and equipment are all in place to support the infrastructure of this vitally important piece of legislation,” he said.