POLICE officers are just as likely to be injured by hazards in Hamilton Police Station as they are in the line of duty, according to an official report.<$>And one police source claimed industrial action cannot be ruled out if building work on the much-delayed new station does not start soon.

The existing station has been condemned by UK officials from H.M. Inspectorate of Constabulary, who said that the building contained so many hazards that officers were at risk of serious injury, according to one source.

Although Planning permission for the proposed new station and Magistrates' Court was approved in November, 2003, construction has been repeatedly put on hold by Government over the last three years.

Police representatives now hope to meet with newly-appointed Public Safety Minister David Burch, when the matter will be "top of the list" of items up for discussion.

Police Officers Association head Carl Nesbitt said: "I will be writing to the new Minister in the next day or two to request a meeting as soon as possible. The new Hamilton Police Station will be on the top of our list when we do have a meeting.

"The new station better had be a priority. All I can say is that, if it is not a priority, then after our meeting with the new Minister, the matter will be discussed by members of the Bermuda Police Association and the Police Commissioner."

Det. Con. Nesbitt did not say what form of action the service may take if the matter is not resolved.

But another member of the association said some form of industrial action could not be ruled out.

"Police officers are concerned first and foremost with doing their duty — this isn't just a nine-to-five job and there are moral and ethical questions to consider," the officer, who asked not to be named, said.

"But if we get jilted often enough there will eventually come a time when some form of action will be necessary."

The officer added that discontent within the force was high while patience was running low.

Government first announced plans for the new station in 2001, and set aside $11 million for the project in the February 2002 Budget when it expected tenders to go out by the summer of that year.

Then-Public Safety Minister Terry Lister said at the time that the new Police Station was a long-standing Progressive Labour Party pledge.

"We were appalled by the state of conditions in the Magistrates' Court and in Hamilton Police Station, which used to be a prison and it's very similar to one now," he said.

A year later, then-Works & Engineering Minister David Burch said he hoped construction work would begin by the summer of 2003.

Further pledges were made in the 2004 Budget, when Finance Minister Paula Cox claimed that "Government regards public safety as a key policy priority". In March 2005, then-Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton assured the public that work would begin that year, with $39.5 million in funding set aside for construction.

And in her Budget statement of this year, Ms. Cox once again said that work would begin imminently, adding that ground was expected to be broken in May.

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Although the site has since been cordoned off and cleared, building work has yet to begin. Government has refused to reveal a construction timeline or even if the project has gone out to tender, despite repeated requests from this newspaper.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Ministry of Works & Engineering would only say: "The project is still very much alive but we cannot confirm a starting date for construction."

Det.Con. Nesbitt added that officers were becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on the new site, located on the junction of Court Street and Church Street.

"Two years ago, during negotiations with the Minister at that time we were told that one of the issues that would be brought to the forefront would be the building of a new police station," he said.

"The current station has been condemned since 1978 and we are still working in that environment. We have had meetings with ministers before and at our last meeting the Minister assured us that he was aware of our concerns.

"The building on the new site was demolished and the area cordoned off but that was seven months ago and there has been no further movement. At our next meeting with the Minister we are going to bring that up and whatever is discussed will be brought back to our members."

The Canadian architectural firm which designed the new complex has also expressed frustration at the slow-moving project.

Geoff Brown of Toronto-based Carruthers, Shaw and Partners, told the Mid-Ocean News<$>: "Nothing has taken place on this for two years — we've just been sitting on it waiting for the go-ahead.

"We were last aiming at December 2004 and were then told that things would be going ahead in January 2005. That's when I started doing my final checks on the drawings but I stopped after a while because there was no action on the project."