POOR staffing, pay and conditions are causing morale within the Bermuda Police Service to plummet ¿ and Government must shoulder responsibility, according to the Opposition United Bermuda Party.

Party leader Michael Dunkley spoke out in response to recent claims by Public Safety Minister David Burch that, because the Governor is the head of the Police Service, Government should not be blamed for poor performance within the service. The claim was later rubbished by Deputy Police Commissioner Roseanda Young, who said that policing was "a shared partnership" between the Governor, Government and the Police Commissioner.

Yesterday, Mr. Dunkley also went on the attack, accusing Government of "passing the buck" after neglecting the service for years.

"It is about about time that Minister Burch and his Cabinet colleagues, instead of sitting on their hands, pretending it's nothing to do with them, get on with helping the police and people make our island home a better and safer place for all," Mr. Dunkley said.

"We have serious problems in our Police Service that are preventing them from doing the good job they're capable of doing.

"I have suggested before that a good deal of their frustration stems from Government's failure to take their deteriorating conditions of service seriously. Minister Burch has contradicted me, saying, in effect, that the Government is powerless to do much more than provide funding for their equipment. Blame for any failings belongs, he says, up at Government House.

"I don't think many people are taken in by that sort of passing the buck. Under the Constitiution the Governor retains the formal power to control the police operationally. What that means is that he oversees the way they carry out their policing, and has control of them in emergencies.

"It doesn't mean that he and the Police Commissionor aren't prepared to work closely with the Government to address the problems at hand as has taken place in the past with former United Bemuda Party Governments. Nor does it mean that he has a magic wand that he can wave and solve problems caused by years of Government neglect of the administration of their working conditions."

Mr. Dunkley listed three areas of concern ¿ manpower shortages, pay, and working conditions ¿ which were all controlled by Government.

"Under the Constitution the police budget, training and manpower has been delegated to the Government," he said.

"The Government doesn't like to talk about just how far down the police are in terms of staff numbers, but it is no secret that shortages are severe, and adversely affect the performance of every unit in the service.

"The numbers get worse with every month that passes. We have to expect second best from traffic officers, from narcotics officers, from community policemen ¿ from every police department ¿ because they just don't have the bodies to be able to do the kind of job they're capable of doing.

"I realise that it's difficult these days, to recruit policemen locally or from abroad, but it's not impossible. Government foot-dragging and the Government's preference for non-Bermudian recruits from the Caribbean, as opposed to non-Bermudian recruits in total if needed, makes the situation much worse than it should be."

Mr. Dunkley also slammed the "disgraceful state" of contract negotiations between Government and police. A pay agreement for 2005-2007 is still being thrashed out by the two parties.

"Any Government that allows its negotiating team to fall so far behind with its work on a new contract that it hasn't been able to reach agreement before it expires, is being careless and inefficient to the point of being contemptuous of those with whom they are negotiating," Mr. Dunkley said.

"This has almost nothing to do with the Governor ¿ I'm sure he takes an interest, but constitutionally, he is not involved. This is something that lies smack on Government's doorstep. Government negotiators have failed to get a contract after three years of trying, and that must adversely affect the performance of the Police Service. Our police men and women are affected by these delays ¿ their morale is bound to be depressed by the fact that their income is falling so far behind the cost of living."

Mr. Dunkley (pictured) also ridiculed Government's repeated failure to begin construction of a new police station ¿ a promise it has made every year since 1999.

"This story has been told too many times for me to need to repeat it. The police stations in Hamilton and Somerset and the complex at Prospect are in a dreadful state. They are so bad they are probably causing health problems. But the Government makes no bones about the fact that improvements are somewhere between the back burner and the back of beyond.

"These are three big, sprawling sets of problems for a small organisation that is under great pressure to do what it does for the community. They aren't the only problems, by any means.

"How do you think a policeman reacts to being taken away from his real work to escort the Premier's entourage to and from the airport? How do you think a policeman who hasn't been able to take his vacation this year reacts to being bounced around in the service as a result of pressure from the Government to put more manpower on to traffic patrols one week, onto narcotics the next and into community policing the week after that?"