Work will finally start this year on the purpose-built Hamilton Police Station, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister announced yesterday.

He said $39.5 million had already been put aside for the project which was supposed to go to tender in the 2002/03 fiscal year.

The new station, which will be built at the junction of Court Street and Victoria Street has been re-scheduled with the major expenditure now being scheduled for 2005/06 and 2006/07.

Mr. Horton said Police had been very patient.

As well as office space and interview rooms there will be meeting rooms, exhibit storage, cells and a detention area, showers and locker areas for staff.

It is anticipated the Operational Policing Division ? mostly uniform Watch officers and CID officers together with the Traffic Wardens, Community Beat Officers and Commercial Crime Department will work from this Station.

Mr. Horton said work onSouthside Police Station, which has had $2.7 million put aside for it, had already started with asbestos abatement done last year. It is set to be finished by the end of 2005.

Eastern parish Operational Policing Division officers will be housed with CID and Community Beat Officers.

Mr. Horton reaffirmed Government?s intention to have St. George?s Police Station operate as a sub station. Just the lower floor will be used to house a 24-hour a day Station Duty Officer presence.

?In addition, a detective and a Community Beat Officer will be assigned to provide an investigative response to the Town area for eight hours per day, five days per week,? said Mr. Horton.

And Police are planning to provide up to 42 rooms for overseas officers by renovating the second the third floors of the existing Southside barrack building. Funds of $1m have been provided for this scheme in the financial year 2005/06.

The current barracks at Prospect, Somerset and Southside are nearing 100 percent occupation.

TheBermuda Police Service is funded to have 463 Police Officers but only has 426 officers, consisting of approximately 66 percent Bermudian officers and 34 percent non-Bermudian officers.

Mr. Horton said recruiting efforts are now underway locally, and recruiting trips to the UK and Caribbean were completed in 2004 in order to fill the existing vacancies.

Opposition Health spokesman said the Police was missing ten percent of its staff and was losing around 36 officers every year yet hundreds of people vied for the dozen or so vacancies which occasionally opened up in the fire service.

He said the average salary in the Police force was $65,000 but other front line services paid more.