East End, allowing parts of Warwick Camp to be put to other use, Delegated Affairs Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman told the House of Assembly yesterday.

A restructured Bermuda Fire Service with professional firefighters serving the Old Town of St. George's would be another result, Mr. Pearman predicted.

The Minister also disclosed that despite cuts last year and efforts to Bermudianise the Police, non-Bermuda officers could have to be hired this year.

The announcements came in committee of supply, while the House debated estimates for the Delegated Affairs Ministry.

Among Ministry objectives for the coming year was increasing the Bermudianisation of the Police force, creating an independent investigation and adjudication board for complaints about law enforcement, expanding and re-emphasising the role of parish constables, and increased civilianisation of internal Police force jobs so officers could return to the street.

Lowering the age of majority to 18 and establishing a family court also came under the Ministry.

Another job of the Ministry was working to abolish visa requirements for Bermudians in foreign countries.

The Bermuda passport had visa-free access for up to three months to every western European country except Germany, Spain, and France, Mr. Pearman said.

Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade questioned exactly what powers the Ministry had, and in what form the delegation of powers to negotiate the turnover of the US Bases had come.

"There has been a delegation of power of some sort,'' Mr. Wade said.

"We've never seen it ourselves. It's never been tabled in Parliament.'' Mr. Trevor Moniz (UBP) said he wanted to clarify something about visas.

Countries in the European Community had to harmonise their visa requirements, and in the next three to five years it was unlikely Bermudians would need visas to visit Germany, Spain, or France, he said.

Mr. Stanley Morton (PLP) said that with Bermuda anticipating Constitutional change, Government would want to increase the two-person administrative office in Delegated and Legislative Affairs, which only had a budget of $117,000.

Mr. Pearman said the United Kingdom had only delegated the right to negotiate about the Bases, and any deal would still have to be approved by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

As for Mr. Morton's concerns, Bermuda had not yet arrived at constitutional change and it would be premature to comment on it.

However, "with respect to the changing environment we're in, with respect to some of the strategies that Government is developing for its own and the country's near and long-term future, it may be necessary in time to review the staffing,'' he said.

Moving to the Bermuda Fire Service, Mr. Pearman said fire prevention was an important part of its job.

Last year, fire prevention presentations were given to 1,173 people in Government and the private sector, he said. And more than 2,000 children visited the fire headquarters, while 72 fire prevention shows featuring Sparky the Fire Dog were given.

Funds were committed for a new St. George's fire truck, and driving instruction from the Bermuda Fire Service would continue for St. George's volunteers. Five had recently been successful in their courses.

By September of 1995, ten percent of Bermuda's land mass would be returned, and the Fire Service would have new responsibilities for firefighting at the Civil Air Terminal.

The Chief Fire Officer would be "embarking on an entirely new approach,'' he said. "We'll be looking at not just the Base, but the (US Naval) Annex.

'' The Fire Service could be reorganised to better serve Bermuda.

Mr. Morton commended the Fire Service. He asked how many volunteers there were in St. George's and how the training was going for the coming changes when the Base was returned.

The whole Island should be professionally served, and St. George's should not be treated as "a step child,'' he said. Mr. Morton also wanted to know whether Bermuda firefighters received accreditation they could use to get work in other countries.

Shadow Labour and Home Affairs Minister Mr. Alex Scott questioned how Bermuda was preparing to take over responsibility for firefighting at the Civil Air Terminal.

The Opposition had said for years that joint exercises were needed with firefighters on the Base, he said.

The $14,000 budget for fire training was the same as last year's. Specific measures, not committees, were called for with the closure "looming large.

'' Would Bermuda have to purchase the US fire equipment? What was budgeted for that? Mr. Dennis Lister (PLP) voiced concerns about fire protection in the West End.

When the Hamilton fire station received a call, a truck moved from the West End station to cover the city, he said.

As long as that truck was away from the Somerset area, it no longer had 24-hour coverage, he said.

Residents had been told emergency coverage would come from the US Naval Annex, but it was no more. "The residents of the West End deserve to have 24-hour coverage,'' Mr. Lister said. "Will the practice continue?'' Mr. Leon (Jimmy) Williams (PLP) said he was concerned when he saw more than $2 million allocated to firefighting in Hamilton, more than $700,000 for the West End, and only $89,000 for St. George's.

St. George's volunteers did "an excellent job,'' Mr. Williams said.

But the Old Town was historic and did not have the protection it should. Those who lived on narrow streets worried about fires.

He too hoped the day would come when all of Bermuda was under one Bermuda Fire Service.

Responding to Mr. Morton, Mr. Pearman said Bermuda firefighters did receive accreditation, but he could not assure that it would allow them to work for the New York City Fire Department, for example.

As for Mr. Scott's questions about training, Mr. Pearman said much of the budget was developed before the Base closure was announced. "It is quite possible that we will have to come back to this honourable House as we take over'' the Base, with respect to firefighting and other matters, he said.

How equipment would be turned over was a matter for negotiation, he said.

He did not understand Mr. Lister's concerns about the West End, which did have 24-hour fire protection.

There were 32 registered volunteers in St. George's, and 16 were active, he said. In taking over the East End, "you're going to have a full-fledged facility,'' Mr. Pearman said. "It gives us that opportunity to deal with all of these matters in a manner we couldn't do before.'' Moving to the Bermuda Regiment, Mr. Pearman announced that on May 21, Major David Burch would be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and succeed Allan Rance as the Regiment's Commanding Officer.

Mr. Morton said Bermuda was getting its money's worth with the Regiment.

He questioned whether one day all young men would go through the Regiment.

Most who did go through it benefitted.

Mr. Scott questioned the expenditures on a UK Regiment officer. When housing was included, it was over $100,000, he said.

Bermudians should be able to do the job, he said.

It was "poppycock'' to say that Government did not know the Bases would close when the Budget was formulated. "Ray Charles could have seen the US Bases were going to be moving shortly.'' Mr. Pearman said that for everyone to go through the Regiment would require a change in Government policy, and possibly legislation. But "virtually all fit, young males are conscripted,'' he said.

There was an opportunity for the Regiment to be restructured and possibly "be located elsewhere,'' he said.

The need for Airport security could result in a full-time East End presence for the Regiment, and parts of Warwick Camp could be used for other purposes.

Those around the South Shore would be happy to have the firing practices moved, he said.

There were in fact two UK officers with the Regiment. Bermudians could do the job, but would have to be prepared to assume the full-time roles, he said. He could foresee a larger force with greater responsibilities.

Government might have to purchase fixed-wing aircraft and boats for rescue operations, he said.

Moving to Police, Mr. Pearman said important changes would come from the Police Tumim Committee report.

Government was pleased with the report, now being reviewed by senior officers.

It found Bermudians still felt positive about Police, he said.

Police resources were stretched last year, with increases in violent crimes.

Police cuts were criticised, but all of Government had to cut back.

The force would continue to push for more Bermudians. But Bermudianisation had sharply decreased the average age of the force, and it might be necessary to hire experienced officers from abroad this year, he said.

Management Services and Police were working on a plan to civilianise certain Police jobs so more officers could return to the street, he said.

Many Bermudians who were trained by Police then found better opportunities in the private sector.

When two huge fraud cases were removed, crime only rose 2.6 percent last year, Mr. Pearman said.

A new emphasis in the Police force was on interpersonal skills of officers, and Government was budgeting to improve that area, he said.

On Police pay increases, Mr. Morton remarked that those on salary, which were usually those in higher positions, had received greater increases (three percent) than those on wages (one percent).

Saying he had heard there were areas Police officers were "afraid to go'', Mr. Morton said more parish Police presence was needed.

In conclusion, he wondered how much Bermuda was forking out for extra Police service during Her Majesty's visit.

Mr. Harry Soares (UBP) said perhaps the community had a larger role to play in helping the Police, such as forming more neighbourhood crime watch groups.

Mr. Scott said he continued to be dismayed at Government cuts to the Police, which had shown in crime statistics and resulted in the curtailing of the cadet programme.

The force was now "regrettably'' introducing a period of importing more Police officers from overseas, he noted.

Drug offence arrest statistics had dramatically fallen, from 500 in 1992 to 391 in 1993, he remarked. But only half of those arrests had resulted in conviction.

Mr. Scott wanted to know if it was because of poor prosecution or the Police case not being that strong in the first place.

Maybe more money should be pumped into training Police in modern narcotics procedures to catch "the smarter breed of drug traffickers'', he suggested, noting there had been fewer seizures recently but larger quantities of drugs involved.

Supporting the new Police complaints procedure, Mr. Scott said he had heard of a number of gripes over handling of cases by officers recently.

A female officer had recently told a stabbing victim to go and find the culprit because she had failed to take the necessary information at the scene -- at a game at PHC, Mr. Scott claimed.

Although Police later on had success in the case, the matter could have turned nasty if the victim had gone out to "do the Police' work himself'', Mr. Scott said.

He added he also knew of a number of complaints over officers' attitudes.

One person had written a letter of complaint claiming a Bermudian officer had threatened to "nail him'', he said.

Maybe officers needed more guidance in good community relations, he said.

"We want to Bermudianise the force,'' he said. "But there does seem to be incidents occurring where young officers are conducting themselves in a way that puts the force in not the best of light.'' And at a halfway house recently, Police had been called to an incident involving a female who had been "manhandled'' by three male officers, he claimed.

"It's a good PR image to have a Bermudian at the top (the Commissioner).

Young Bermudian people want to join the force. But these matters do not help,'' he said.

He added the force still "had a long way to go'' when it came to Bermudianisation, with only 61 percent of officers being Bermudians "at best''.

Ministry of Delegated and Legislative Affairs Ministry responsibility: To provide support to the Deputy Governor, Commissioner of Police, Chief Fire Officer and the Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment in the coordination of their responsibilities relating to matters of internal security and to manage the activities which fall under the portfolio of the Minister of Delegated and Legislative Affairs.

Budget estimate $33,191,000 (last year $32,394,000) Budget allocation Defence $4,028,000 Police $25,726,000 Fire services $3,320,000 Security services and Delegated and Legislative Affairs $117,000.