over the Judge Stephen Tumim report.

He said the report's proposals would not solve the Island's criminal justice problems overnight.

And Mr. Viera rapped Judge Tumim over his emphasis on looking after the needs of criminals.

It was important not to forget victims of crime -- and the Police, he stressed.

"Everybody is embracing this report as if it is a tablet brought down by Moses from the mountain,'' Mr. Viera said. "It is important we don't become misty-eyed over it.'' Mr. Viera said he backed many of Judge Tumim's recommendations, although they were not new.

But there were inaccuracies, and he took issue with the emphasis.

Mr. Viera said key statistics about the ratio of blacks to whites on the Island were wrong.

The ratio was 73-27 -- and not 60-40, as the report stated.

"This is very germane, and is a myth that needs to be exploded because it is so often repeated,'' said Mr. Viera.

"It means it is not surprising ninety percent of the prison population are black males.'' Mr. Viera said rehabilitation and education -- underlined by Judge Tumim -- were long-term solutions to cutting crime.

Much needed to be done to solve the immediate problem of rising crime, he added.

"Serious crime is going up and yet the Police force is going down in numbers,'' he said.