severe dog attack is cause for concern. According to the man who was savaged by two dogs and then treated at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the Police told his wife that officers were off for the long holiday weekend. As Dennis Robinson, the person attacked, has said, "That really isn't good enough. This is a serious matter.'' In response to questions from this newspaper, a Police spokesman said that officers would investigate Mr. Robinson's complaint. However the spokesman added: "We recommend he gets in touch with the Pembroke Parish constable.'' What would have been wrong with the Police following up the complaint by getting in touch with the Pembroke Parish constable and giving Mr. Robinson some attention? What went wrong that the Police did not tell the Robinsons in the first place to contact the Parish constable? The Police response quoted in this newspaper was: "Regular uniformed officers would take an initial complaint, but ongoing inquiries such as this would normally be dealt with by parish constables. They do work weekends ...'' Mr. Robinson was bitten last Wednesday morning. He reported the attack later that day. No-one arrived to take a statement. His wife called the Police again on Friday.

Mr. Robinson was not on someone else's property nor was he in a position many other people might not have been in. He was walking to work early in the morning on the public road at Spanish Point. Now he is injured and off work.

In our view dogs which attack on the public road should be destroyed with no ifs, ands or buts.

Given the fact that dog attacks are becoming fairly common in Bermuda and that the public deserves protection, this appears to have been a very weak response from the Police. Environment Minister Harry Soares has already launched a review of Bermuda's dangerous dog laws because of these attacks and we think the Police should be making every effort to help. After all, there may be as many as 600 unregistered pit bulls or pit bull type dogs in Bermuda which have not been tracked down. That too is a Police matter even though we do understand the great difficulties and the time involved in worrying about unlicensed dogs.

With the going of Colin Coxall there was public concern that the Police Service would slip back to casual ways and that the enthusiasm which Commissioner Coxall instilled in the Service would diminish. Those who complained about Colin Coxall failed to recognise that concerted leadership counted for a great deal.