The Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police said that Caribbean Police services should adopt Bermuda's strategy on ethical conduct.

The subject of ethical standards in law enforcement agencies was brought up at the annual general meeting of the ACCP, along with the issues of crime impacting tourism and the difficulties of recruiting and retaining Police officers.

Police forces in the Caribbean are concerned that a lack of ethical regulations could lead to a growing distrust of the police in some areas.

Among the proposed improvements are support to officers who become whistle-blowers, stricter standards when it comes to hiring officers and greater efforts to find and remove officers who do not follow ethical standards.

A trend throughout the conference was a call for improved communications both between police departments and between CARICOM (Caribbean Commissioners of Police and Military Chiefs) heads and the ACCP.

Next month, Bermuda will be hosting the tenth meeting of CARICOM, where organisers intend to continue the discussions of police issues in Bermuda and the Caribbean.