returned home to assist with an inquiry into the shooting of a suspect.

They returned in mid-January. One of the Police Constables is believed to be directly involved in the firearms incident, which is not thought to be serious but resulted in a suspect being shot by an officer.

It is not thought to have been fatal.

The other officer is understood to have been a witness. It is not yet known whether they will be able to come back to the Bermuda Police Service. A decision will be taken on that later.

A Police spokeswoman said yesterday: "The Bermuda Police Service can confirm that two Jamaican officers, on secondment to the service, have been recalled to the Jamaica Constabulary by the Commissioner of Police in Jamaica, in order to assist with the resolution of an outstanding criminal case.

"The Bermuda Police Service understands that this case arose out of an incident that occurred in May, 2000, in Jamaica, prior to their secondment to Bermuda.

"Issues connected with their future status with the Bermuda Police Service can only be considered following the conclusions of that criminal case.'' Two Policemen to help in Jamaica shooting probe It is believed that Bermuda Police was not aware of the pending inquiry when the two officers arrived on the Island.

They were among 21 officers to be recruited from Caribbean islands, including Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago and St. Lucia.

Last year, Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox said a total of 57 officers from the islands were interviewed, with the selection team identifying 15 "exceptional officers''.

She said a further five had been earmarked for possible secondment.

And Ms Cox also said each of the officers that came to Bermuda would have to be "free of any matters that may prove embarrassing to either the sending Police force or the Bermuda Police Service.'' They arrived at the beginning of July to help boost Bermuda's thin blue line, and underwent a five-week training and localisation programme.

Things are very different in Jamaica, however, compared to Bermuda.

In 1999, the Caribbean island, where many Police Officers are armed, recorded a total of 845 murders, which was 31 down on the year before.

And a reporter at The Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica yesterday told The Royal Gazette that incidents where suspects were shot by members of the constabulary were not uncommon.

He said on average, 150 people were shot dead by the Police every year.

A Police Spokeswoman for the Jamaica Constabulary said she was unaware the two officers had been recalled due to an investigation into any incident.

She said: "It was an internal policy decision to recall the officers.

"We are forced with a manpower shortage here, so we had to recall some of them. The decision was to take back two.''