the latest in protection for Police -- currently being developed at Home Office labs in Britain -- for the Bermuda force. Mr. Lemay said: "We could have available for officers a very light vest which officers would wear to protect themselves from knives and bullets.'' He added UK Police forces and Bermuda already have lightweight bullet-proof and knife-proof vests -- but combining both forms of protection in one leads to a heavy and uncomfortable garment. And that means in Bermuda, with higher temperatures than Britain, officers might be tempted to take off the protective gear for comfort's sake.

Mr. Lemay said: "Bearing in mind the heavier the vests, the less chance you have of officers wearing them in very hot weather.'' A Bermuda constable ended up in hospital late last year after being stabbed at a soccer match. And in 1995, a blade missed a major heart artery by millimetres when a sergeant was knifed trying to make an arrest. The new vests are being developed at the UK Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch in response to demand from UK forces. It is expected a prototype will be ready by the end of the year and a commercial version available early next year. Mr. Lemay said that the vests would offer better protection from guns and knives for officers. But he stressed that there was a low level of serious assaults on Police using guns or knives. He added, however: "It's not so much that we need these new vests on a day-to-day basis, but it's an item we need to have available. "It's down to an `officer safety issue' -- and that is very important to us.'' Mr. Lemay was speaking after completing a whistlestop tour of Police units and colleges in Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and England. He added that the traditional "jam sandwich'' look of marked Bermuda Police cars may also be revamped. Mr. Lemay said he also seen the latest Police lab work in England aimed at developing new, high-visibility paint jobs for vehicles, as well as the latest in reflective jackets. Tests in the UK have shown that bright, reflective yellow and blue paintwork was the most visible to motorists.

New-style UK Police vehicles also have bright yellow-and-red paintwork at the rear to help prevent collisions. Mr. Lemay added: "The whole idea is to provide higher visibility for vehicles, not only when they are operating, but when they are stationary. "We will be looking at how to make our vehicles