Government backbencher Wayne Perinchief claims Bermuda Police Service needs to recruit more local males because it has become "largely expatriate and disconnected from the general populace".

He told MPs this week that an overhaul of the Service "from top to bottom" was needed as "there may well be a bias against young Bermudians".

But Acting Police Commissioner Mike Jackman last night rubbished the claim, telling The Royal Gazette: "The BPS can categorically deny there is any anti-Bermudian bias in its recruitment process. In fact, there is an absolute bias towards recruiting suitably qualified Bermudian applicants."

Mr. Perinchief, a former Assistant Police Commissioner and former Minister of National Drug Control, also said detectives investigating gang and drug crime should be given handguns.

The new Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly gave a presentation on Wednesday to a parliamentary committee set up to look at escalating gun and gang violence on the Island.

He told a public meeting of the bipartisan group: "I have observed that Bermudian males, those not as academic as others, have been rejected for service.

"The effectiveness of the Police as a functional unit when it comes to putting men on the ground has been compromised.

"I have spoken with Bermudian males who have been rejected because of some perceived psychological inadequacy or slight academic inadequacy. I believe these people could be brought on board as special constables."

He said the Service might be asking too much academically of its recruits, adding that not every officer needed to have a degree. Asked if Bermuda Police Service was "Bermudian male friendly", Mr. Perinchief replied: "No. I have had occasions where Bermudian men said they felt ostracised."

He said local men had been "eliminated without adequate explanation" during recruitment drives.

"In many instances, they felt it may be because their attitude wasn't sufficiently... I don't know whether it's condescending or what. Many of the interviewers now are not Bermudian-born and I think there may well be a bias against young Bermudians."

He added: "I don't believe that recruitment should be left entirely to the Police. We should have another component, such as [the Department of] Labour and Training. Perhaps we could have people from outside the Service who come sit on recruitment boards."

He said employing locals as Police officers would mean immediately increasing the resource pool of local knowledge, helping to solve crime.

"It's elementary," he added. "We have always tried to get to the position where we had a high level of Bermudians. Now, we seem to think a warm body in a uniform constitutes a good policeman."

Mr. Perinchief served in the Police Service for more than 30 years but was forced to take early retirement in the mid 1990s — a decision a judge later ruled was unlawful and for which the MP won an out-of-court settlement.

He claimed this week that officers who were rigorous in their approach often created problems for superiors and that those making the fewest arrests were usually the ones rewarded.

"In other words, keep your nose clean and you will go a long way," he said, adding that Bermudians were more likely to go out and make arrests and "create problems for managers".

"I think, going forward, we really need to have a review of the Police Service and perhaps a reorganisation from top to bottom," he said. "I would like to know what happened to the Bermuda College recruitment course."

Mr. Perinchief claimed not enough use was being made of plain clothes detectives to counter "open drug dealing" on the streets.

He said he'd like to see narcotics officers formed into street teams to tackle the problem. "I do believe the time has come that criminal investigators should have small firearms," he added. "Small 9 mm pistols."

Mr. Jackman said: "It is unfortunate that Mr. Perinchief did not take the opportunity to discuss these matters with the BPS before making these comments.

"The BPS takes every opportunity to recruit locally to fill its vacancies. The recruitment process is managed by a Bermudian and many Bermudian officers are used to form the interview panels.

"The demands of modern day policing are high and the standard of new recruits must be suitably high.

"The BPS is not prepared to lower its entry standards as the likely impact will follow for years to come. Sadly, not all Bermudians who apply are suited for policing."

In relation to handguns for detectives, Mr. Jackman said: "The BPS has a clear strategy for dealing with the current surge of firearms incidents and is working closely with the Minister of National Security to implement measures to support the work that is currently being done."

Mr. Jackman, who also appeared before the committee, told MPs that Bermuda Police Service had about 455 officers. A Police spokesman could not give a figure yesterday for the number of Bermudian male officers.