Assistant Police Commissioner Mr. Wayne Perinchief was yesterday criticised for his "ignorance'' of domestic violence after suggesting that marital abuse should not be regarded as a criminal matter.

"He obviously has no understanding whatsoever when it comes to the issue of domestic violence,'' Ms Toni Daniels of the Women's Resource Centre said of the top Policeman.

"In the vast majority of cases, the victims of abuse are unable to help themselves. His comments reflect his ignorance of what is involved in such cases.'' Mr. Perinchief, who was plunged into controversy last week when The Royal Gazette revealed that a report on a 1991 domestic dispute between he and his second wife had been wiped from Police records, was quoted in last Friday's Bermuda Sun as saying a distinction should be made between criminal matters and domestic or "welfare'' matters.

The Assistant Commissioner further told the newspaper that the concept of automatic prosecution in cases of domestic abuse was "flawed because it took away the discretion of the parties involved.'' The role of the Police was to "remedy (a) situation rather than compound it,'' Mr. Perinchief was reported to have said.

The Police report on the 1991 incident -- during which Mr. Perinchief's wife Stephanie received a cut lip and bruised knee -- stated that the matter was settled when the couple agreed to have the problem dealt with privately.

Mr. Perinchief described the case on Friday as a "one-off incident.'' "It concerns me that he would make such statements publicly,'' Ms Daniels told The Royal Gazette yesterday. "Surely he must have realised they would be controversial.'' Citing Mr. Perinchief's characterisation of abuse as a "welfare'' matter, Ms Daniels said she was particularly disturbed that a high-ranking Police officer would propagate the "the typical myth of domestic violence as an in-house, private, non-serious issue.'' She also suggested that the Assistant Commissioner displayed a skewed sense of priority.

"The fact that he seems more concerned with an alleged conspiracy than with the actual incident is unbelievable,'' Ms Daniels said. "I just wish he would realise how serious his comments are and what repercussions they may have.'' She added: "It just fuels our determination to see that a system of mandatory prosecution is eventually brought in.

"It also demonstrates to me that we have a long way to go in terms of our educational campaigns.'' In the Sun interview, Mr. Perinchief suggested that he and fellow Assistant Commissioner Mr. Harold Moniz were the victims of a "nasty vendetta'' by unspecified parties.

Both Mr. Perinchief and Mr. Moniz were recently passed over for the posts of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.

The Commissioner's job was given to Englishman Mr. Colin Coxall, while the deputy's job has yet to be announced.

Mr. Wayne Perinchief