sitting.

Bermuda should be "very proud'' to attract British Police officers of the calibre of Colin Coxall and Michael Mylod, a Government MP declared.

Paget West MP Mr. Tim Smith believed the two officers would herald a big improvement in the fight against crime.

"I believe the sun is rising on the Police Service.'' Mr. Smith reeled off numerous statistics to show how crime in Bermuda had soared.

But his comments to the House of Assembly on Monday triggered a furious response from Progressive Labour Party MPs.

Shadow Human Affairs Minister Dr. Ewart Brown said the remarks were an insult to Bermudians.

"It's very, very, disappointing, and it's disheartening to hear a young Bermudian MP make some of the dangerous assumptions he is guilty of making.

"The clear assumption is that without the contribution of foreign nationals our Police Service, from which it has been converted from a Police Force, is incapable of reaching heights of excellence.'' Shadow Labour Minister Mr. Alex Scott said the appointments of Mr. Coxall and Mr. Mylod to Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner respectively had frozen the careers of Bermudian officers, and thwarted their ambitions.

He also feared two foreign Policemen could make things even worse.

And Shadow Human Affairs Minister Miss Renee Webb said the hirings would fail to combat crime.

Instead of attacking the root causes of crime, Government seemed intent merely on managing the Police Service.

What disqualified Wayne Perinchief and Harold Moniz -- two Bermudian officers with years of experience -- from assuming the top jobs? Fresh controversy over the appointments erupted during the motion to adjourn debate.

Mr. Smith, a Government backbencher and relative newcomer to the House, delivered crime statistics over the last 20 years.

These showed that since 1975, the total number of reported crimes had soared by more than 52 percent from 3,686 to 5,615.

In any given week Police were dealing with, on average, 410 crimes, including traffic offences, he said.

"While our population has only increased by 11 percent since 1975, the number of violent crimes has increased by more than 272 percent.'' Other figures released by Mr. Smith included: The cost of operating the Police had risen 311 percent since 1980, amounting to $448 for every man, woman and child; Offences against persons had more than doubled since 1980, rising from 237 to 504 last year; Offences against property had rocketed 153 percent since 1980, from 3,663 to 5,615 last year; Housebreak-ins, robberies handbag snatches and office break-in had shown "dramatic'' increases during the last year; Cycle theft had rocketed 97 percent since 1993; and In 1994 four Police officers received serious injuries from brutal assaults.

Said Mr. Smith: "Physical danger attached to being a Police officer cannot be glossed over.'' Mr. Smith added that, despite the dangers, the number of Commissioner commendations and notifications of "good work done'' to Police officers was unusually low.

There were just 26 in 1993, and letters of appreciation from the public had steadily dropped since 1980.

Mr. Smith said the annual rate of staff turnover had increased only moderately since 1985, falling slightly in 1994.

"In 1975 there was one Police officer for every 142 residents, while in 1993 there was one Police officer for every 138 residents.'' Dr. Brown, however, said the statistics spanned a long time, and Bermuda began taking the wrong turn many years ago.

"We have always had a strong presence of foreign nationals in our Police Service.

"We cannot logically equate foreigners with an absence of crime.'' In a speech described by one MP as the wittiest he had ever given, Mr.

Ottiwell Simmons (PLP) told the House how he had become a recent victim of crime -- a thief had taken his black Suzuki.

"I would like to report now that I do not want it to be among the lost and not found bikes.

"I need an investigation into the stealing of my cycle, and I would like my cycle back.'' As MPs burst into laughter, Mr. Simmons continued: "If the new Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner find and return my bike then you may find a split in the PLP.'' Mr. Simmons said he had bought the bike from the honourable member who speaks for Labour the Hon. Irving Pearman .

Turning to hotel workers, Mr. Simmons, the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union, said the incoming Commissioner had another job on his hands.

He wanted Mr. Coxall to investigate the matter of gratuities which employers owed their workers.

After all, said Mr. Simmons, he heard that Mr. Coxall was coming here with a big reputation in tackling white-collar crime.

Mr. Pearman, defending the decision to hire the two UK officers, said Bermuda needed a different approach to Policing.

Bermuda today was a very different place than it was 10 years ago.

The two officers, who were coming on a short-term basis, would demonstrate administration and leadership techniques to Bermudians.

They would teach the skills needed to bring the Island into the 21st Century.

Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess said it was a demonstration of maturity for a Country to realise its weaknesses and seek outside help.

It was wrong for anybody to play politics with people's ability to do a job.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan repeated Mr. Pearman's theme that Bermuda was living in changing times.

The Country had changed from a "manpower-driven'' society to one where technology reigned.

History would prove Government right in bringing in Mr. Coxall and Mr. Mylod to modernise and reform the Police Service.

He expected the two men to instil a belief that Policemen were on duty 24 hours a day.

And, hopefully, the rest of the Country would be filled with the same sense of responsibility.

"In the final analysis, there are 60,000 Policemen in this society, looking after our society.''