Dark-tinted visors on helmets could be banned under new legislation that will be put before the House of Assembly.

The move, which was announced in yesterday’s Throne Speech by Governor George Fergusson, has been welcomed by crime-fighting agencies and victims of crime.

Mr Fergusson said the aim of the legislation was to minimise and ultimately eliminate the use of dark visors and those that conceal identity.

“A ban will help law enforcement by removing an article that has been used by criminals, sometimes in the commission of violent crime, to hide their identity,” he added. “Steps for the implementation of a ban will follow consultations with stakeholders. Public safety is a Government priority and a dark visor ban will contribute to a safer, more secure Bermuda.”

The announcement comes nearly two months after Michael Dunkley, the Premier and Minister of National Security, said it would be “unfair to suddenly ban a vital piece of personal road safety equipment to address the criminal behaviour of a small number of individuals”.

His comments followed a Royal Gazette campaign calling for tinted visors to be banned.

Alex MacDonald, the president of Crime Stoppers International, said: “This move can only help law enforcement agencies in identifying those who commit serious crimes and take advantage of this method of concealment.

“Tinted visors inevitably make it much harder for the police as well as the community to identify criminals, so anything we can do to tackle this and keep our streets safer is only going to be beneficial to the community as a whole.”

Gavin Kennedy, who owns The Hub in Warwick, where a business was recently targeted by armed robbers in helmets with tinted visors, also welcomed the move.

“This is a good move to make,” he told The Royal Gazette. “It will make it much more difficult for criminals to carry out their nefarious actions.

“I am happy to see that this issue will be put before Parliament for debate, it’s a step in the right direction.

“If it becomes law then I believe it will ease the concerns of small businesses as well as the whole community and make identifying criminals easier.”

The Commissioner of Police, Michael DeSilva, would not comment on the move to ban tinted visors.

The Throne Speech also revealed that the Bermuda Government will provide funding for the expansion of the CCTV network to Dockyard, while St George’s will also be included in this roll-out to support of the existing police presence in the East End.

Andrew Dias, the general manager of the West End Development Corporation, welcomed the announcement.

He said: “A fully integrated CCTV is something we have been talking about for some time, so I was encouraged to hear it mentioned in the Throne Speech. We have CCTV cameras in place in Dockyard in certain locations, but I am hopeful that a fully integrated system could become a reality and welcome the opportunity to work with other agencies in this regard.”

During the 25-page address, Mr Fergusson announced plans to add instructors from other uniformed services to the Ministry of National Security’s Gang Resistance Education and Training (Great) programme that aims to deter children from joining gangs.

He detailed legislative changes that would modernise the way the long-term sickness of police officers is dealt with, and also revealed that the Government would commission a review to determine “the best means by which to close one of the minimum security facilities”.