eagerness to contribute and a pleasing level of enthusiasm. A high degree of frustration as to their working environment and limited resources was clear.

7. Much emphasis is given to traffic violations and the enforcement of the powers emanating from that Legislation.

8. The systems employed in the handling of suspects and arrestees were witnessed first hand and identified clear shortcomings both in procedures and any audit trail to be followed. (A single document Custody Sheet is recommended) 9. The perceptions gained, suggested a tendency to meet bureaucratic needs as against that of customer care for persons entering St. George's Police Station.

10. It was at this station that we witnessed a small notice identifying to suspects, their availability of legal rights and access to a legal representative while in police custody. The notice was positioned high on a wall well above normal eyesight and this was identified as totally inappropriate for its intentions. There was general agreement from the staff to whom we spoke. But no previous action had been taken.

11. We took the opportunity to speak to a group of uniformed Officers who were preparing some evidence for a recent arrest. It was quite apparent they had little or no experience of dealing with serious crime scenes and each Officer expressed the view that they would welcome any input and training that could be given to them even on a local basis which would assist them to be more professional in their tasks.

12. It also became apparent from our interview with C.I.D. Officers that there is a great deal of confusion with regard to how prisoners should be processed within a Police station here in Bermuda. Matters alluded to were in respect of the taking of fingerprints, of persons detained, to the bailing of those persons, to body samples which cannot at this stage be taken.

13. Further frustration was felt from their constant need to manipulate the rules to achieve material in support of prosecutions.

*** CENTRAL POLICE STATION AT HAMILTON 1. At 2.30 p.m. on Thursday, August 24, 2000 the Commission attended the Central Police Station Hamilton. We were met by Acting Superintendent Bridgeman and he took us into the Central Reception area which appeared to be clean and tidy but didn't have much substance to the walls and did appear as though Officers could be vulnerable from the Reception area.

2. From there we entered into the Prisoner reception area and observed a process similar to St. George's. A station Sergeant, one of the many acting Officers, apparently satisfies himself that an arrest has been correctly made.

He inquires as to the evidence to detain: and if satisfied, passes the prisoner through to what is known as the lock up unit. There appears to be little paper trail of audit during this process but the Officer kept speaking of a computer. It didn't impress the Commissioners.

3. The lock up custody unit appeared to be one of confusion. There was at that time a female being released after overnight detention. Her property was in the process of being returned but it had not all been listed and it appeared as though the staff were retrieving items from various unsecured locations within the lock up unit. There seemed to be a general air of indiscipline. One Officer appeared to treat the whole process as a large joke and kept uttering words that were not readily understood. He kept throwing himself around into an armchair which the Commissioners found disconcerting. After some time the Acting Superintendent called the Officer to one side and we understand that he has taken action in the matter. See page 40.

4. The custody suite documents appeared to be very limited and not conducive to giving an audit of what had happened to the prisoner whilst in custody.

5. A notice informing prisoners of their rights was positioned on a wall just above eyesight level. The words `may' and `provided' were highlighted which rendered the notice daunting rather than helpful, and against the spirit of the rules which required it to be posted.

6. The cells themselves were somewhat of an improvement on St. George's but we found them to be dirty, very hot, little ventilation and certainly no air-conditioning.

7. THE JUVENILE CELL WAS A HORROR, A BLACK HOLE. It was clearly identified as the Juvenile Cell, a detention room. It consisted of three walls and a large heavy metal door with a very small aperture near to the top. The rest of the cell had no ventilation or natural light and it appeared as though the only light to the cell was operated from elsewhere. This was in the Commissioners view, totally inadequate for the detention of juveniles.

8. We returned to the station itself and the Acting Sergeant spoke of having no occasion when he had challenged the detention of any person, prisoner or suspect which in itself seemed surprising. This Officer is also entrusted with the taking of bail from this station.

9. The Commissioners spoke with a traffic Sergeant Mr. P. Louis. He appeared to be a very committed Officer to traffic enforcement, spoke of high-speed pursuits, of persons committing traffic violations often reaching speeds of 120-150 kph. He did not appear to grasp the dangers to other road users, pedestrians and the public at large, of these high speed chases. He was not the only traffic officer who spoke almost with glee of pursuing speeding motorists on their very powerful motor cycles.

10. We then moved to the 1st floor where we saw Acting Chief Inspector Mooney who spoke of a lack of resources, the shifts being below that of 20 years ago, constant abstractions to all manner of duties except operational policing. He suggested that the lack of street patrols is contributing to the increased number of crimes and serious crimes within Hamilton.

11. He appeared to accept the position as the norm and went on to explain that it was traditional to supply 2 Officers to the Governor's lodge and other extraneous matters which took his small number of Officers to even lower levels of Operational patrol.

12. The Commissioners then moved to the C.I.D. offices where they were introduced to staff by Detective Inspector Crockwell. There were many Officers wanting to show their enthusiasm for the work and the dedication they had toward it. It was very disturbing however to find that in the majority they had little or no training and one of the female Detective Officers present had only had 2 days training at all which did not include any specialist training to deal with sexual abuse cases of females. It was apparent that the Detectives were trying hard to work within the rules. However, they thought that the bending of those rules was sometimes necessary. This in their minds did not amount to anything out of the norm if it resulted in the obtaining of fingerprints and body samples by inducements for people to volunteer them. It appears there is little legislation to support them in these tasks but nevertheless they attempted to achieve operational needs by a process of make do and mend.

13. There was a constant theme throughout a very long and interesting interview with these Officers that they were of the mind that the centralised C.I.D. unit of the past was far more effective and efficient. Since being decentralised it had brought added frustration to their working practices.

14. It appeared that they had a limited knowledge of DNA technology but it was doubtful whether they understood the ramifications of contamination of the crime scene and the material that could be found once a scene had been secured.

15. In relation to prisoner's rights there seemed to be a general understanding that bail is a right of every person and they would seek to make the Commission believe that they followed good practice in ensuring persons were made aware of their rights. The completeness of that statement needs to be assessed in the knowledge of their notion of make do and mend.

16. There is a low percentage of female Officers within the C.I.D. and this was acknowledged by Inspector Crockwell. The young female Detective who was present is obviously being called upon to conduct interviews of female victims and conduct investigations into sexual abuse cases without having the advantage of any training. We have made recommendations elsewhere in this report about the need for specialised training of female officers in dealing with sexual offences and in the conduct of victim support programmes.

17. When asked what would be their wishes for the future, without hesitation each officer responded by restating with regard to their training needs and the ability to do their tasks in a more efficient and professional way, assisted by urgently needed changes in legislation.

*** INTELLIGENCE UNIT 1. At 10:30 a.m. Monday September 4, 2000 the Commission attended the Intelligence Unit at Police Headquarters here in Bermuda. We were met by Detective Sergeant Craig Morfitt.

2. It was very clear that Detective Sergeant Morfitt is very enthusiastic with regard to his task but is clearly being frustrated by the number of personnel at his disposal at any given time to conduct surveillance operations. That said, this Officer is attempting to bring to policing of serious crime in Bermuda, the very important aspect of intelligence gathering, its collation, and analysis.

3. It was a little troubling however to find that there is a divide within the gathering of intelligence between drug enforcement Officers and Officers who are engaged in serious crime and other criminal investigations. This we think, will need to be the subject of review.

4. It is not proposed within this document to outline the very confidential nature of some of our discussions but it is quite clear that we can report that there is a level of expertise within the department which is being gained by a small number of Officers with regard to the deployment of specialist devices. It is understood and hoped that this unit will be given some increase within its budget to go forth and equip the force with some much needed material for very serious on-going operations.

5. We also discussed the elements of test purchasing in drugs operations, particularly the ability for surveillance within a small community such as Bermuda, and the difficulties of recruiting and training Officers who will not be known to the criminal fraternity through their other duties over the years.

A suggestion was made that perhaps some of the recently recruited experienced Officers from other jurisdictions who are shortly to join the BPS may be encouraged and quickly trained to take on the role so much needed here in this type of work.

6. During the course of this visit it became apparent that perhaps force protocols were not being followed with regard to target packages, nor was the requirement for the whole force to support this vital element of policing within the intelligence unit.

*** SOMERSET POLICE STATION 1. At 2:30 p.m. on Monday September 4, 2000, the Chairman and Mr. Dovaston attended Somerset Police Station where we were met by Acting Chief Inspector Adams of the uniform section.

2. The first impression of Somerset Police Station was very pleasing. It appeared quite modern in good decorative condition, high ceilings and an airy atmosphere.

3. On being shown into the Prisoner reception area we again encountered the procedures whereby suspects and prisoners were booked into the Police station.

Yet again, it was apparent that the process is in need of review. Several documents related to the process: a property book, a station book, booking the prisoner in and out of the cells or booking him or her as having been taken elsewhere.

4. No reference was made to the issuing of the Bill of Rights form, which could be a simple addition to the paperwork. There appeared to be the ability of all to accept that prisoners could come and go without the element of care being injected into those proceedings. It is quite apparent from what we have found in the Police stations here in Bermuda that a Custody Sergeant or person of responsible rank should take charge of the processes in relation to prisoners and suspects. The custody record adopted in the U.K. forces deals with all eventualities and at a glance it can be seen exactly what has taken place with regard to prisoners entering a Police station, including any requirements for medical attention, the issuing of rights, the charges, and the circumstances by and under which that person is being detained. A Custody Officer having responsibility for that process and for the care of all persons in detention is recommended.

5. Moving further into the station we found that the interview room was well lit and the cells appeared to be clean and acceptable. It was not clear, however, who had the responsibility for prisoners in the cell.

6. Moving into the C.I.D. office we found a group of Officers drawn from across the three divisions who were dealing with a very serious assault which had been classified as an attempted murder having taken place in Somerset district 48 hrs previously.

7. The grouping of these Officers demonstrated how the major incident room staff had called upon other divisions to assist with a very serious investigation. In this case fortunately, a suspect had surrendered himself and, to all intents and purposes, had assisted the Officers with regard to his involvement and the mitigating circumstances leading to it.

8. This gathering of Detectives from across the various stations of the BPS allowed the Commissioners to quite gently tease from them their concerns with regards to working practices.

9. Yet again high on their agenda is the need for training. Training that has eluded many of them even since being in the C.I.D., some for a number of years. It was quite clearly demonstrated that even at Detective Sergeant rank some officers have been let down in enabling them to perform their duties by not having had the requisite training. There were however, two Officers present who had had considerable training and that was obviously very pleasing to hear but when we inquired why was the disparity, it was quite obvious that they were the Officers who manned positions within the major incident room.

10. Again, we witnessed female Detectives who are being charged with the investigation of serious sexual abuse cases who had not received the requisite training. They quite rightly felt strongly about this, and wished to embark upon a programme of training which would equip them with the ability to deliver a better quality of care to the victims of serious sexual abuse.

11. It was quite pleasing to find once again the high degree of commitment these Officers were giving to the service. They were clearly frustrated that, whereas PACE existed in the UK, similar legislation was not yet in existence in Bermuda. They were also aware that DNA technology existed elsewhere but not in Bermuda. All of these officers thought that these modern developments should be extended to Bermuda. Several Detectives had been involved in high profile serious cases which they felt they were not able to give the degree of professionalism they would wish to.

12. It was during these interviews at Somerset Police station that we learned of the practice of transferring Officers from specialised units at a very late stage in their careers. An example was of a Detective of long standing, who had something in the region of 18 months to complete before retirement, having been transferred to the traffic enforcement section. This Officer was not making any complaints: but it was quite apparent that the time, money, and resources, given to this Officer's training, and the degree of experience and professionalism he held, were not taken sufficiently into consideration in the redeployment of an officer with such ability.

13. The Chairman and Mr. Dovaston were then given a conducted tour of the rest of the Somerset Police building which was found to be in good repair and very airy. We had little or no adverse observation other than that it was brought to our attention that there were no showering facilities for prisoners.

*** IDENTIFICATION PARADE FACILITES 1. At 11:30 a.m. Monday September 4, 2000 the Chairman and Mr. Dovaston were shown to the identification facility at force headquarters by Detective Sergeant Craig Morfitt.

2. The facility turned out to be a large room within the police clubhouse building. It appears that all identification parades are held at police headquarters. Victims and prisoners alike are conveyed from the three divisions in order that identification parades can be held.

3. The facility amounts to no more than a large room within the police social club building. To say that it leaves a lot to be desired, would be somewhat of an understatement. There did not appear to be facilities which would allow for the segregation necessary of witnesses from the suspects, and other witnesses to follow onto an identification parade, which is desirable. There has been some effort made to allow the victims hoping to make an identification, to stand behind a one-way mirror. One can see that effort has been made but this is of a very primitive nature and not conducive to a good process for the identifying of criminals responsible for crime within Bermuda.

4. It does appear that when the clubhouse facility is not available, the process is then transferred to the police gym at force headquarters. That facility is totally inadequate and a completely inappropriate venue for such identification procedures to be conducted.

*** TRAINING DEPARTMENT 1. During the visit to the Training Department, the Commission became aware that the training of officers to equip them for duties in the Criminal Investigations Department was at an alarmingly low level. They requested and were later provided with a schedule of 47 named officers currently performing the duties of investigating officers in the Bermuda Police Service. The schedule included details of the elements of training they have received in their detective careers to date.

2. An examination of this schedule clearly supports that which has been continuously raised with the Commission by operation detectives frustrated by little if any training to fulfil their important roles.

3. Of the 4 middle ranking supervisory officers only 1 of the detective inspectors could be said to have received a modicum of appropriate up-to-date overseas training. The antecedents of the most senior identified officer, Detective Chief Inspector, Carlton Adams indicates an initial CID course some 30 years ago. His most recent update, according to the records shown to us, being a course on arson investigation in 1989. However, this officer informed us that he has, received overseas training subsequent to 1989.

4. The training of officers of Detective Sergeant rank, often referred to as the backbone of Criminal Investigation Departments, leaves the Commission equally concerned. Only one of the 10 Detective Sergeants can be identified as having received anywhere near the degree of training to meet his operational needs. Of the other 9 in the front line supervisory role of criminal investigations in Bermuda, only 1 other had some requisite training and that has not been enhanced since 1986.

Continued in Friday's newspaper Tomorrow The Royal Gazette will print the rest of the Commissioners report in which they make their conclusions and recommendations.