The passing of two new Criminal Justice bills in the House of Assembly yesterday prepared the way for the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 2005 (PACE), which will be debated on Monday.

Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister said the new bills were one of 42 recommendations made by a Criminal Justice System Review in February 2004.

However, there was some contention between Parliament?s political parties about who reported the Review?s recommendations first.

Mr. Horton said it was Michael Scott of the PLP while Opposition Party Whip John Barritt said it was the UBPs Trevor Moniz.

Nevertheless, Mr. Horton continued by saying the PACE bills would assist Police in their every day work.

He said the Criminal Law (Abolition of Distinction Between Felony and Misdemeanour) Act 2005 sought to abolish old definitions of crime and increase Police arrest powers.

?It is meant to go with PACE,? Mr. Horton said. ?Once PACE is in operation, Police will no longer be required to consider felonies or misdemeanours. Instead they will only consider if an offence is arrestable or not.?

He added that arrestable offences were defined by a sentence on conviction of over 12 months. Mr. Horton listed other justice system bills Government had introduced in the last House session, such as the Criminal Code Amendment Act and the Bail Act.

Mr. Horton also touched on bills that were in the pipeline, including one that would allow the public to pay for parking tickets online.

Government was also looking at the Jurors Act in order to allow more people ? who currently could not serve because of their occupations ? to serve on juries.

PACE and its associated bills would usher in a new period of justice for Bermuda, he said.

?It is a critically important and essential piece of legislation,? he said.

However, Shadow Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister said the Bermuda Police Service was in trouble, as seen in a half-page advert in on Tuesday, December 6, that said ?Lost: One Bermuda Police Service ? If found please return to the streets.?

Mr. Dunkley said the Opposition supported PACE but was concerned about current crime levels and issues of Government policy.

Opposition Party Whip John Barritt said Government had put the cart before the horse, by debating a PACE bill without looking at PACE first.

?We are being asked to debate without the umbrella legislation,? he said. ?This is not the best way to proceed with the legislation out of interest to the people of the country.?

Mr. Barritt said PACE was introduced in the UK in 1982 and passed in 1984.

On the whole felonies included indictable offences (for Supreme Court) and misdemeanours were summary offences (for Magistrates? Court), he said.

Minister of National Drug Control said the bill would make things more clear for Police.

?It will clear up the muddy area of when you can or can?t arrest a person,? Mr. Perinchief said. ?I accept if PACE is as comprehensive as it should be, we should find in it codified somewhere what is arrestable and what is non-arrestable.?

The former Policeman said Police may at present only arrest any person who they reasonably suspect was about to commit or was committing a felony.

?Once a cop has arrested a person they can make a case ? ?It was my perception this person was about to commit a felony?, for example a theft, or a violent act or buying drugs. But the suspicion lies in the mind of the cop. So it is a wise move to codify the law so it is very clear what offences are arrestable or not,? he said. ?And I ask that going forward this be more than a political debate.?

Finance Ministersaid Bermuda?s justice system was moving away from arbitrary lines in the sand.

She complimented Mr. Horton?s ?testicular fortitude? for being a non lawyer who did not shy away from steering lengthy legal bills through Parliament.

After the short debate the Criminal Law (Abolition of Distinction Between Felony and Misdemeanour) Act 2005 was passed in Committee.

Next, Mr. Horton introduced The Interpretation Amendment Act 2005 which he said would come into effect along with PACE in January 2006, once it was passed.

The Interpretation Act provided new definitions for indictable (Supreme Court) and summary (Magistrates? Court) offences, he said.

And it also introduced a new offence ?triable either way? which could be tried in either court, he said.

However, before it was passed in Committee, Mr. Dunkley asked whether prosecution lawyers or defence lawyers decided which court a case would be tried in, to which Mr. Horton responded that prosecution lawyers decided first.

?This is a giant step forward for the Island?s criminal justice system,? Mr. Horton said.