questions in the House of Assembly over current staffing levels.

And Shadow Labour and Home Affairs Minister Michael Dunkley later blasted Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Paula Cox's answers to a series of questions on the strength of the force.

And he dismissed Ms Cox's answers as "completely unsatisfactory''.

Mr. Dunkley opened fire after Ms Cox said the force levels currently stood at 411 -- but varied depending on circumstances -- compared to the authorised figure of 432.

And she said the actual number available for duty was cut by a third -- around 290 officers on the job -- because of leave, sickness or training.

But Ms Cox added that the number of civilians backing up the force had increased to 95 -- bringing the number employed by the Police Service up to nearly 530 and releasing officers for street duties.

And she said demands for extra officers to be drafted in were short-sighted.

"In terms of what is the ideal number, we're looking at the data and looking at the core functions,'' Ms Cox said.

But she said there was no "magic number'' she could quote as correct without analysing an in-depth review of the Police .

Ms Cox added: "This Government is trying to build a better mousetrap and trying to have a better Police Service.

"If we're trying to do that, it's a fallacious argument to talk about plucking a figure out of the air without using statistical data.'' But Mr. Dunkley said: "She really avoided answering the questions I put to her.

"What we've tried to do over the last year is find out what it's going to take to tackle the manpower situation.

"Last year maybe they had some room because they were a year in office -- a year down the road the problems still exist.

"For the Government to tell us we're being fixated by numbers and that they're trying to build a better mousetrap is not good enough -- the Minister is micing. We want a better and safer Bermuda and we want some action.'' Mr. Dunkley also asked how many applicants there had been from the recent recruitment drive and how many had been accepted from the pool.

Ms Cox said a total of 116 had applied -- but that 87 failed at the first hurdle, with a further eight falling by the wayside after further examination.

But she added: "Clearly there is a recruitment drive planned and it's an ongoing scheme.'' And she said: "Part of building a better mousetrap includes getting local Policemen -- every effort will be made to redouble efforts and recruit locals.'' Ms Cox added the reborn Police cadets scheme would also help "grow our own'' -- although she admitted overseas recruitment would be needed in the short-term.

And she insisted officers could be released from Police prosecutions, while others could be freed for front-line jobs by turning static security posts over to the Bermuda Regiment or Reserve Police.

But Ms Cox said: "We have never had a number of Police officers which reflects our needs -- it's not good enough any longer to pluck numbers out of the air.'' Mr. Dunkley, however, said another recruitment drive would produce the same low numbers as the last. And he said: "The Government has to bite the bullet and go overseas to recruit experienced staff.''