A potential influx of extra Police officers from overseas has been temporarily stumped — by cricket.

Reports from Barbados suggest Caribbean officers seeking jobs in Bermuda will have to wait until after the World Cup, starting next March, before they can head to the Island.

Barbados top cop, Commissioner Darwin Dottin, has reportedly received 12 applications from officers hoping to swell the ranks in Bermuda.

However, according to the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Mr. Dottin has been in touch with his Bermuda counterpart George Jackson and other regional police chiefs about deferring recruitment ahead of the major cricketing tournament, which will be held in the West Indies.

CBC says they are in “total agreement” that nothing should be done to compromise security at the event. As a result, the offers to the Barbadian police officers have been put on ice.

In a statement last night, the Bermuda Police Service confirmed that nothing would be done to damage World Cup policing.

It added: “In light of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, which features the Bermuda National Cricket Team, Commissioner of Police George Jackson along with other Caribbean Commissioners of Police have agreed that nothing would be done to negatively impact on the ability to police the event. As such, the recruitment of some officers to Bermuda from the Caribbean where countries face acute shortages, particularly Barbados, has been put on hold; however, this has not affected the Bermuda Police Service’s ongoing recruitment initiatives.”

The recruitment issue hit the headlines in August when overseas reports said Bermuda ranks could be boosted by 30 new officers from Barbados. This came amid claims that officers heading here would get bigger salaries and improved working conditions compared to Barbados. That report surfaced while Mr. Jackson was in the Caribbean country on a major recruitment drive. A rookie constable in Barbados reportedly earns $1,029 a month ($2,061 Barbados dollars), compared to five-year contracts in Bermuda said to guarantee $5,400 ($11,000 Barbados dollars) per month.

Reports had also suggested that some members of the Barbados Special Services Unit - which has received specialised anti-terror training ahead of the Cricket World Cup - were among the group planning to quit. And Mr. Dottin indicated this issue was discussed when he met his Bermuda counterpart.

As part of the recruitment drive, Bermuda Police Service was looking to hire 40 extra officers from Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and the UK. Commissioner Mr. Jackson told a Caribbean newspaper that the recruitment push was not aiming to deplete resources of other forces gearing up for the Cricket World Cup.

Constables with up to four years’ experience of general patrol work who show leadership were being targeted, he added.