Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay last night revealed that he was planning to soon open a new sub-station in the heart of one of Bermuda's most troubled drug dealing areas.

The chief officer said he was actively looking for a ground floor office or shop space in and around Hamilton's Court Street that could be easily transformed into a station.

He said: "We have been talking about the idea of us establishing a Police presence in and around the north part of the community for some time.

"We know we are going to be moving to the corner of Victoria and Court streets and the Government plans to build this combined Magistrates' Court and Police station. But this won't be for some time.

"We thought, in order for us to move forward and establish closer ties with the community, it's logical that we should identify an office space where we could move a small operation, to establish a presence and develop relationships with residents and the business community.'' Mr. Lemay appealed for anyone in the area with space to let to get in touch with him as soon as possible.

The north side of Hamilton has been riddled with problems of drug dealing and violence for some time.

However, the North Hamilton Business Association has told Police and the Corporation of Hamilton that it would now be in favour of having CCTV cameras placed around the area after at first being hesitant.

Last night, Mr. Lemay said he was in regular talks with business people in the area about the proposals and said the idea was still being actively pursued.

But he said he had no doubt that placing a small Police station in the heart of a troubled area would have a positive affect.

He added: "The first thing we want to do is deal with the drug issue and then we want to make sure we maintain a Police presence in the area.

"The fact that we would be moving a special unit into the area would definitely give some assurance to the merchants and residents that the Police are in the area and it would be conducive to dealing with the crime and the fear of crime.'' He said he was looking for a ground floor property that would need minimal renovations for it to be suitable as a Police station open to the public.

He added: "The idea is for people to walk in off the street into the Police station on a 24-hour basis.

"We are not looking for something like what we have in Warwick because that's not necessarily working for us all the time.

"The officers that would be posted to this particular operation would be hand-picked as community-minded, and would have the skills for problem-solving. They would be good at addressing the issues that the community feels are important.''