Dozens of Police officers are concerned about their future following the de facto suspension of three young Bermudian officers days before the end of their probation periods.

Police sources say that the three officers were told by their superintendent to stay home last week and not to report to duty until the Commissioner said otherwise.

But Kevin Christopher, the deputy president of the Police Association said that the whole episode probably boiled down to a miscommunication. The three were just about to complete their three year probation period and were not told the reason for being put on the shelf indefinitely. "It's an internal matter and it will be dealt with accordingly," said Police spokesperson Dwayne Caines.

The Royal Gazette has been told that none of the officers had had a review hearing, received any warnings or notices and they were not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings.

"He (Police Commissioner) waited until the eleventh hour to tell them not to report to work," said one police officer. "He has not told them they are fired nor has he told them they are suspended. This is not something we have heard of in years...These officers are in limbo, they are stressed - they have children and families and do not know what the future holds."

Police officers on probation should have performance appraisals once every six months, but according to the source the three had had a total of two or three appraisals since starting work. "We are going to be in dire straits next year (when the Service expects to lose dozens of officers through retirement and contract completion) and the Commissioner makes this arbitrary move to tell these officers not to come back to work," he added.

Dozens of officers currently on probation are now worried about their own tenures in the Police Service and the matter has been discussed by the Police Association.

The Royal Gazette understands that the officers met with the association executive and Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith yesterday.

Mr. Christopher said: "We would like to see this matter resolved as soon as possible. It is our understanding that there may have been a miscommunication that led to this. And it is our understanding that the matter is likely to be resolved sometime in the next few days."

He said the association understood that the wrong message may have been passed on to the officers.

The officers had approached the end of their probation period and were due to be assessed, he said.

"It is our understanding that on reviewing the documentation the wrong message may have been sent to those officers. It does not appear that he (Commissioner Smith) gave the instructions that ultimately reached the officers."