Outgoing Police chief Jonathan Smith has launched a blistering attack on some of his officers, accusing them of living in a ?timewarp? where they answer to no one outside the force.

Mr. Smith said a minority of his team ? including some in senior posts ? still think Police can do anything they want and not be held accountable.

The Island?s top cop made the controversial comments at Hamilton Rotary Club yesterday, in one of his final public speeches before he steps down as Commissioner next month.

And he warned that whoever succeeds him in the hot seat will face serious challenges dealing with recruitment, training and new laws on arrests.

His ?timewarp? remark came as he discussed the introduction of laws in 1998 that meant complaints about the conduct of officers would be investigated ?impartially and externally? by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

Stating this law was ?quite radical? for the Bermuda Police Service seven years ago, he added: ?Most in the Service have made that transition seamlessly.

?However, it is rather sad to say that a minority of Police officers, some at senior ranks, to this day neither accept nor respect the authority of the PCA ? still believing that they are in some timewarp where the Police could do anything it wanted and did not have to answer to anyone.?

In an outspoken parting shot, he said this thinking has ?stifled? the service and set a poor example to less experienced officers.

?At a time when I have deliberately tried to raise standards, instil ethics, drive home accountability, we have a minority of officers in our ranks who believe they are answerable to no one outside of the service.?

However, Mr. Smith warned the culprits their days are numbered and stressed the ?overwhelming majority? of his 468 officers can be trusted and ?accept the 21st Century environment which advocates transparency, accountability and demands ethical behaviour?.

The departing Commissioner did not name names, but his comments will still raise concerns about the attitude of some officers, some apparently occupying high positions, towards Police rules and policies.

In a wide-ranging speech, the Police chief also outlined the mounting problems the service faces in recruiting new faces.

Mr. Smith warned the ?recruitment barrel was getting shallower? and said radical measures should be considered to help bolster depleted crime-fighting ranks.

?The situation is not critical,? he told Rotarians. ?But it is worrying.?

The Commissioner said ways of recruiting and retaining more staff included:

* Raising the retirement age from 55 to 60 so experienced officers do not depart too soon.

* Phasing in performance-related pay.

* Introducing an accelerated promotion system to keep talented recruits.

* Bringing in short-term contracts for officers, recognising the fact that few people stay in one job for 25 years.

Mr. Smith said a recent disappointing recruitment drive saw less applications then there were posts to fill ? and he revealed there were 30 vacancies at the moment.

Earlier in his career, he said there used to be 45 PCs qualified to rise to the rank of Sergeant. Now there were less than five.

The Commissioner warned the Service must make itself more attractive to qualified Bermudians, amid fierce competition from the worlds of finance, insurance, law and education that were luring talented Island residents away from policing.

He said there is a pattern of talented Bermudian officers leaving in their mid to late 20s and early 30s and heading into lucrative and safer jobs.

And he said potential recruits are being scared off by a rising tide of violence on the Island.

?Let?s face it, it?s becoming increasingly harder to make the job of policing attractive,? he said.

?Assaults on Police, threats on our lives, having to face firearms, knives, machetes and other weapons in the line of duty. Being punched, kicked, stabbed, spat at and called names unsuitable to be broadcast.

?Some of our officers are up to the challenge and are among the finest you?d find anywhere. Others are not ? and some applicants simply weigh up the risks and say: ?I?m 22 years of age, university educated, do I want to go through that???

Problems have arisen in the UK and Caribbean, countries that normally helped offset the shortfall of local recruits.

Changes to the UK police pension laws have made a career in Bermuda for a British officer less desirable, he revealed, and Canadian and Australian police forces are now advertising for UK officers.

In a bid to meet minority recruiting targets, some UK forces are now targeting the Caribbean for new recruits and there are signs that this Bermudian ?talent pool? has begun to dry up.

He revealed that in the past seven years, between 32 and 50 officers retired, resigned were dismissed or died in service each year. And he said it was clear that many officers with potential are leaving before they reached 55.

Mr. Smith said, after his recommendation, backed by the Bermuda Police Association, Government is now understood to be seriously considering raising the retirement age by five years.