Amendments to the Bail Act are a stopgap measure to tackle gun crime while the Attorney General's Chambers await the opening of the new Court Building.

Yesterday, Attorney General Kim Wilson said amendments to the bill, which will allow Police to confiscate the passports of suspects in shootings or give them a curfew, could be overhauled as soon as the next phase of the Police And Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act is implemented.

Over the last four years a series of amendments have been made to the PACE Act that modernise arrest and detention procedures, rules for searching people and property, and the way suspects are questioned.

The next phase requires the Court Building on the corner of Court Street and Church Street to be completed as it has to do with how suspects are treated and detained.

Prior to the amendments passed yesterday only a Magistrate was able to confiscate travel documents from individuals charged with serious crimes or impose a curfew.

Now Police will be able to do so before an individual is even charged with a gun offence.

It is hoped that by putting restrictions on gun crime suspects Police will be able to prevent them from fleeing the Island or interfering with witnesses while Police await forensic evidence from abroad to charge people with the crimes.

Opposition Senate Leader Michael Dunkley said he supported the bill but believed such provisions should be extended to suspects in rape cases and Opposition Senator Suzann Roberts-Holshouser added suspected child molesters should also fall under the same Police bail restrictions.

But Government Senator Walton Brown said it was important to maintain the presumption of innocence and that the amendments should only apply to gun crimes, as that is what is plaguing society at the moment.

Senator Walwyn Hughes agreed that it was important to balance the needs of the community with the rights of the individual and supported the legislation.