New Deputy Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva never meant to stick with the Bermuda Police Service.

He started out as a cadet in 1985 before heading to Bermuda College with every intention of pursuing a career in law.

But things don't always work out as planned, as he acknowledges. "Twenty three years later, I'm still here," he says. "I had a three-year plan.

"I was going to work for three years and that would have made me about 21, 22.

"In those three years, I enjoyed where I was, put the plan on hold but never gave it up. It was still in the back of my mind that I would do that eventually. But then I went down the promotion route."

Mr. DeSilva, a divorced father of two daughters aged 13 and 14, has certainly risen through the ranks. He was made a sergeant at 27 and an inspector at 31. In 2001, he became a chief inspector and was appointed a superintendent in 2006.

It's no secret, he says, that his latest promotion has seen him leapfrog over the service's assistant commissioners but he hopes to prove that it was a sound decision on the part of the selection panel and to attract the support of all officers.

"There are only two sides of the fence to be on," says the 41-year-old. "The staff either support me and the fact that I have been given the post or they don't.

"For those that don't support it, it's a fair criticism that I have skipped out a rank and the experience that comes with that rank.

"Ultimately how I deliver, not just to the people of Bermuda but to the staff of the Bermuda Police Service, will be the proof of the pudding.

"I'm not really bothered by any criticism right now. In six months, if I'm not performing that gives credence to the criticism."

He adds, with a smile, that he doesn't expect that to be the case. "The reason is not because I think I bring any unique skill set that has not been brought by my predecessors," he explains.

"I think what we are seeing is a philosophical change at the command level. It really is all about teamwork."

Mr. DeSilva was sworn in by the Governor last month, with Sir Richard Gozney telling the media he hoped Police Commissioner George Jackson would welcome the opportunity to retire next year.

Asked if he wants the top job, Mr. DeSilva quickly nods. "Absolutely," he says, adding: "I'll be unequivocally honest.

"The initial thought of being the Commissioner in 14 months, there are some concerns attached to that just in terms of rapid promotion because it's not a secret that I've skipped the Assistant Commissioner post and gone from Superintendent to Deputy.

"We don't know that that's (going to be) the case. I'm certainly not going to assume that the Governor will offer me the post. I assume he'll make that decision based on where the senior command team is at that time."

Like Sir Richard, he thinks its important to have high-ranking Bermudian officers.

"It's important because there needs to be home-grown leadership at the top of the organisation to act as a role model, to act as an example of what can be achieved and to be inspirational to our younger Bermudians," says the former Warwick Academy student. "Not just in the Police, that applies everywhere."

He's quick to add that his comments are "in no way meant to marginalise or devalue the contribution of our non-Bermudian officers" who make up 48 percent of the service.

Mr. DeSilva spent six years in charge of community safety, during which time he replaced parish constables with community beat officers, reintroduced Neighbourhood Watch and came up with a "co-operative partnership" approach to dealing with bar and nightclub owners.

He favours a "holistic" approach to crime where law enforcement is only one piece of the jigsaw and education is a huge component.

It's crucial, he says, to teach children that drugs and gangs and guns will not be tolerated, in order to change the culture.

His new role sees him take charge of the corporate services division and his responsibilities include finance, administration, IT, training, service delivery improvement and complaints and discipline.

He admits that crime is on the rise, citing a 40 percent increase in burglaries over the past four years and more violent crime involving weapons, especially firearms, over the past three years as examples.

But he says: "We believe that the public is no more unsafe now than they ever have been. Does that mean there is not more crime? No.

"Yes, there's an increase. That's all well reported but these crimes are not random for the most part.

"I'm not going to take the bold step and say this is all criminal on criminal crime but anecdotally we know that the majority of these increases are down to an increase in criminal activity and all of that criminality which is associated with gang activity.

"It means you are no more likely to be a victim of a robbery or any other violent crime just because you go about your day-to-day business or you go about your normal social activities."

He said the Police's real challenge, which he intends to tackle, is analysing how they perform in terms of tackling crime.

"We don't have an analytical capability as an asset in the organisation," he reveals. "Without the analytical ability and without computer systems that capture data in an automated way it's very, very difficult to make informed decisions."

One of his priorities is to overhaul the service's IT infrastructure to enable crimes to be tracked from the time they happen to conviction, like in the days prior to 1987 when every incident was logged in a massive ledger and easy to keep tabs on.

He also wants to speed up the procedure for dealing with complaints from the public about Police officers and send more lower-ranking officers overseas for training.

He himself did a 16-week training stint in the UK earlier this year, gathering information on what could work for the Island. One thing he noticed there was the high level of accountability for Police forces and he wants to see Bermuda Police Service become more transparent.

"I'm aware of the leaning in the UK and the trend now that we have shifted from 'need to know' to 'need to share' and I appreciate the role that the media plays in that."

He promises: "I'm going to encourage the Commissioner and my colleagues to have a very open relationship with the press.

"We have a responsibility to report things to the population and we have a responsibility to share information with you."

Right now, he admits, he's on a "bit of a learning curve" and expects to spend the next few months getting to grips with the job.

"I might be the Deputy Commissioner and second-in-command but I certainly don't know everything," he says. "I haven't done everything but I know who to call."