The Bermuda Police Service now have a complement of 378 officers, with more expected to join the ranks soon.

Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said yesterday that while the number puts the service at 18 more officers than in July 2024, when BPS staffing was at a 45-year-low, the organisation would “love to see more”.

He said the BPS had concluded that 420 officers would be an adequate number “when there were significant financial constraints in the economy”.

Mr Simons added: “When we hit that 420, there has to be a look at what the level of service the community and government expect from the police and how many police officers does it take to deliver that service.”

Twenty-two officers joined the BPS in May, 14 others are expected to complete recruitment in October, and about 15 are set to start training in November.

Applicants must pass medical, psychological and other evaluations to qualify for training — nine were chosen in 2023 from more than 100 total applications.

Mr Simons said: “There are many steps in the process, so if a person doesn’t get past steps one, two or three, we know they won’t pass steps four and five.

“Mental health is an issue. There was a time where we didn’t do that much testing and there was a time when I think it was less of an issue.”

He added: “Because I have a history in training, I can say that it typically takes four applications for each successful one and I don’t think we’re far off that number today.”

The BPS opened the application process to non-Bermudian residents, who, Mr Simons said, make up about a third of recruits in each cohort.

He said: “The contributions they make and diversity that they bring is important to policing in Bermuda, but that has not solved the recruiting challenge.”

Mr Simons did not provide details on Cup Match policing activity, but said relatively few serious incidents occurred during the holiday weekend.

The details came as he highlighted that the BPS had deployed 200 new police body cameras on July 21.

The Halos-brand cameras, supplied by Digicel International, allows officers to send live footage of incidents to police stations.

Mr Simons said: “They have the ability, just by their very presence, of moderating behaviour of both the member of the public that’s being engaged and, just as importantly, the police officer that’s being engaged.”

The cameras have led to about 2,000 uploads comprising 250 hours of footage since being deployed, and the BPS expects to receive 20 more units.

The $550,000 contract for the cameras includes accessories as well as support and maintenance covering three years.

Mr Simons said he hoped that the cameras provided stronger evidence for criminal investigations and increased transparency for police and the public.

He said that members of the public filming officers on smartphones during encounters with the police also improved transparency, but warned people not to obstruct police while doing so.

He explained: “Pushing the camera right in their face, as opposed to filming them from an appropriate distance, can be obstructive.

“While some officers may find filming disconcerting or uncomfortable, it is an expectation that the public should have a right to do that.”

Mr Simons said the BPS received few reports overall of officers being assaulted or obstructed while carrying out their duties.

“There’s a number of incidents in any given year where a member of the public is not going to do what the officer says, but by and large it’s not a significant feature of policing in Bermuda,” he said.

Mr Simons thanked those who assist police, especially after major incidents.

He said: “We have experienced the support of the community, where they’re coming forth and providing information that allows us to progress investigations.

“Very often, without that community support and information, those investigations are not going to progress because if we don’t have witnesses or forensic evidence, it’s really difficult to bring a successful prosecution to criminal matters.”