New legislation paving the way for a modern and transparent disciplinary system for the island’s police service has been approved by MPs.

The Police Amendment Act 2016 was debated in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, when it received bipartisan support.

The Act will reform disciplinary and sick leave procedures within the Bermuda Police Service in line with a model established in England, Wales and the Isle of Wight.

Michael Dunkley told the House the changes would boost public and police confidence in the outcomes of cases “because they are quicker, more transparent and focused on modifying behaviour for the future”.

“Implementation of the modernised system will be enabled through the delivery of training for all supervisory ranks within the Bermuda Police Service,” the Premier said.

The new framework comes after Victor Marshall, a leading UK authority on improving professional standards within police services, visited Bermuda at the end of last year.

Mr Marshall met with the Governor, George Fergusson, as well as the Ministry of National Security and assembled a working group to look at proposals to modernise the management of police performance and misconduct arrangements. The total cost for the project including training is $38,060 and did not require additional funding, Mr Dunkley said.

He added: “While the proposed changes are focused on reforming the disciplinary system and introducing a performance management system, there is naturally a link to the police complaint system which will need to be considered to ensure all the arrangements interact where necessary.

“The new arrangements are designed to focus more on learning and improvement rather than blame and punishment. This will be reflected in the police complaint system.

Mr Dunkley described the existing framework as a “blunt instrument” designed to punish offenders who were found guilty of discipline offences rather than addressing unsatisfactory performance and misconduct.

He said: “The proposed changes to the present disciplinary procedures, the introduction of performance management procedures and changes to the complaint and appeals processes will result in improvement in personal and professional standards at an individual and an organisational level.

“The reforms advocated in this Bill and the concurrent Orders will modernise the arrangements for the management of misconduct and performance in the Bermuda Police Service and bring the processes in line with modern employment practice.”