Police are dragging their feet by failing to comply with legislation designed to ensure that Police interviews are handled correctly, a defence lawyer has claimed.

Former Crown counsel Larry Mussenden said the Bermuda Police Service needs to implement its tape recording interviewing of suspects in the main criminal investigations or risk further mistrust by members of the public.

“As far as audio recordings are concerned, they have not implemented it in the main Police Stations,” he said.

“The legislation has been out since October and the only place they have set up tape recorded interviews is at the financial crime unit.

“They need to have these devices in place where people are arrested regularly.

“They are making a mockery of the Government.

“They need to tell the public when they are going to have these devices in place.”

Mr. Mussenden - who is currently co-counsel, representing Gernell Leroy Darrell in the George Kelly murder case - said the Bermuda Police Service needed to move into the 21st Century by becoming properly equipped like other Police Services around the world.

He added that with the absence of the taped interview system, Police are failing to uphold the rights of people who are hauled in for alleged criminal crimes by interviewing them in an unfair manner.

And Mr. Mussenden suggested that several Police cases could see the proper prosecution if there was an accurate record taken from the beginning.

“I invite the Police to give an explanation to Government and the Criminal Defence Bar as to why the ordinance is not in place,” he said.

“We are still left with a situation of the last 50 years where we are not satisfied - that the proper procedures are not put in place when statements are taken.

“These are the kinds of things that cause the public to lose confidence in the Police.”

Mr. Mussenden has been vocal in recent weeks about Police procedure, most notably their handling of the 6,000 outstanding warrants.

He claimed that the manner of Police stopping people and going onto people's jobs “shaking down workers” breached the Constitutional rights of individuals.

In response, after consultation with the Attorney General's Chambers, Police assured that they were operating within the confines of the law.

Last week, the Police Commissioner said that motorists were being stopped based on The Motor Car Act, The Road Traffic Act, The Misuse of Drugs Act and the Auxiliary Bicycles Act to see if licenses were in order.

And through that procedure, if people were found to have outstanding warrants, they were arrested.

But of the taped interview procedure Mr. Mussenden said he will not rest until people brought in on criminal charges are given the chance to give a statement in an environment that operated fairly.

“It appears that the Police have chosen a department with the least amount of criminal contact to house this equipment,” he said.

“They've got it in an impractical department when it comes to the investigation of crimes in this country.”

Yesterday, Police were unable to comment.