The United Bermuda Party (UBP) is considering setting up an independent body to look at allegations of corruption in the Police, Customs and Prison Service.

Shadow Youth and Sports Minister Cole Simons told the House of Assembly last night that a number of Police and Customs officers had been convicted of drugs offences and he wondered if there were others who had not been caught.

"We would create a Public Integrity Division to examine these issues. It would be independent and outside of the Police because we want the community to feel comfortable about coming forward," he told the House.

"The results of the findings would go to the Governor who is not political or the Director of Public Prosecutions. It has been used in New York and it is worth examining here."Afterwards, Mr. Simons told The Royal Gazette, the UBP was examining creating such an independent watchdog.

Government backbencher Ashfield DeVent told the House he did not believe the Police were committed to solving crime because they turned a blind eye to crack houses which had operated openly for years, and did nothing to prevent open drug dealing in his Pembroke East Central constituency.

"In my constituency people refuse to call the Police because they call them and they fail to come," he said.

"I question the commitment of the leadership of the Police to do their job. There is a park where I live where drug dealing and drug use goes on daily.

"Before, they used to shuck and jive because the Police came, now they bring along a seat. There are open places where drug sales take place.

"There are crack houses that have been taken over with all kinds of terrible things going on. The Police know they are there.

"Why aren't these places being raided and why aren't the owners charged for allowing these places to be used under the Misuse of Drugs Act?

"There is no reason for these people to be doing illegal activities openly and comfortably in houses in this country, so I question the commitment of the leadership of the Police.

"Until the Police are committed to making it at least uncomfortable to sell drugs, we will have more drugs.

"We have a generation of people growing up seeing people openly doing it without having to run or hide and they now believe that is the thing to do."

He said he supported the UBP's idea of setting up a group to look at the activities of Police and Customs officers.

He said on his radio talk show he interviewed a former drug dealer and he said "many times there were people in these places he paid and any time he was in prison he had any drug he wanted".

Mr. DeVent said that when prison officers rang his show to deny this, three or four other former prisoners rang back immediately to say it was true that they had plenty of drugs while inside Westgate Correctional facility.

"If there are allegations or perceptions (of corruption) that exist then we are in serious trouble because there are people here who will no longer trust the Police, so these things will continue to happen. If there is a feeling of corruption and people no longer feel safe, then crime will continue.

"If we don't stop it being so open and acceptable then we'll have a generation who rather than going to school will sit on the wall and become richer (selling drugs). As a society, we need to send them a message that this is a bad thing.

"It is imperative that we close down the crack houses. There was a death in my constituency in a crack house and it has been a crack house for many years."