The Minister of National Drug Control believes the Police Commissioner only has himself to blame for the so-called disrespect shown to him by Police officers, some at senior ranks.

Wayne Perinchief was commenting on Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith?s remarks to the Hamilton Rotary Club when he said a minority of Police officers were in some time warp where they felt they could do anything they wanted and did not have to answer to anyone.

This thinking, Commissioner Smith said, has ?stifled? the service and set a poor example to less experienced officers.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday, Mr. Perinchief said for his enthusiasm and competency, Commissioner Smith was ?a bit young? for the job.

Mr. Perinchief said Commissioner Smith was ?propelled? through an exhilarated promotion system, which showed in his lack of management experience.

?That may also account for the fact that some of the older Policemen in the upper ranks might not have felt the confidence of a younger man,? he said, adding that this might be why the longer serving members of the Police service appear incorrigible and might look like they are not bending to the will of the current command.

?You learn from experience to learn to respect your peers from performance.?

?If you walk the beat with a particular fellow and you respect him as a constable, you certainly respect him when he becomes your sergeant. There?s an appreciation for your peer group,? he added.

But Mr. Perinchief said the Police Service was salvageable.

He said Police Services should be run like armies.

?You don?t have a problem with management in the army because it?s top-down management and this is how the Police Service would be restructured.?

He said by pointing out all the problems, Commissioner Smith would not be part of the solution once he leaves next month ? unless he stayed a little longer.

But he did sympathise with the outgoing-commissioner.

?He was thrown in the deep end, trying to rescue a Police Service that has been vacated by a Commissioner who did a lot to dismantle his management team before Commissioner Smith got there.?

He said Bermuda went from a pretty conventional Police organisation to one that was unconventional and he believed this could be rectified with the appointment of a new Police Commissioner.

?I would think that, with some collaboration between the Minister of Public Safety and the Governor, we could put together an organisational team to put the Police Service back to right.?

The Shadow Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Michael Dunkley told he believes the only way to have an effective Police Service is to have a partnership with the community.

He felt the community was losing faith in the Police because of the way they deal with everyday crime, as well as the lack of so-called beat officers on the streets.

?How do we expect our Police officers to conduct themselves in the manner that we want in the community when they?re operating from sub-standard facilities?? he said.

Mr. Dunkley said Police stations across the Island, including St. George?s and Hamilton, need serious improvements.

?The Police system has been devoid of the infrastructure improvements that they need over time and this has impaired their ability to conduct their job the way they needed,? he said.

He added that one of the biggest issues in Bermuda is the war on drugs.

?Policemen are fighting the war against drugs armed with pocket knives while the drug dealers had all the latest technology available,? he said, adding that he had to provide the surveillance to monitor two of his employees who were suspected of smuggling drugs into Bermuda in one of his company?s containers.

He said all the Police could offer was an officer to monitor the equipment he provided.

Mr. Dunkley said what aggravated him even more was when the Attorney General announced that he was going to target 17 drug houses in Bermuda.

?There are 17 crack houses within a stone?s throw of Parliament. That?s not telling me anything,? he said.

He said he was tired of all the talk and lack of action, adding that Police drove past these ?crack houses? every day and did nothing.

He said Police even stayed out of so-called hot spots and wondered what message this sent out to the community.

?They are not going to protect you and are not worried about the guys peddling drugs,? he said, adding that this sent out a message that the drug dealers were ?in charge?.

Mr. Dunkley said he wanted to highlight some of these issues following the Commissioner?s comments at Rotary in the hopes that the Governor of the Government would address them.