The ongoing dispute between Government and the Government House over operational control of the Police Service needs to stop. It is a distraction from the real business of preventing crime and of its detection. The latest row blew up after a mêlée between Boulevard under-23 football players and, apparently, spectators at Southampton Rangers Sports Club.

Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney claimed that the Police should have had officers at the game and its aftermath and that their intelligence was therefore faulty.

Commissioner George Jackson defended his officers, with some justice, pointing out that there is an agreement between the Police and the Bermuda Football Association to highlight games that are considered to be high risk. For whatever reason, and perhaps because this was a developmental league game, the game was not highlighted.

To be sure, there have been problems at games between Boulevard and Southampton Rangers before and the Police should not rely solely on the advice of the BFA. It is reasonable to think that they don't; intelligence pointed them towards policing other games last weekend and Mr. Jackson rightly says he does not have the resources to place officers at every game every weekend.

But all of this is, to some extent, besides the point. Mr. Blakeney and his colleagues would like the public to believe that somehow, if the Government had direct operational control of the Police, that mere fact would lead to better crime intelligence and the like.

What gets lost is regardless of who ends up with control of the Police, the Island faces a serious crime problem now, which requires a united approach. The Governor offered regular meetings with the Government to discuss policing strategy which the Government turned down. That begs the question of what the true goal here is: crime reduction or control for its own sake?

Government already has control over the conditions that lead to crime, and it is worth remembering too that while the Police have some influence in reducing crime through crime prevention programmes, community policing and the like, the fundamental role of the Police is to stop and detect crime once it has occurred, to arrest those who have committed the crimes and to present the evidence to prosecutors to seek convictions in the courts.

Government already has much of the control over the conditions that lead to crime. Factors that influence this include:

• General economic conditions since a poor or weak economy will normally see more crime;

• Educational opportunities as better educated people tend not to commit violent crime, break into homes and the like;

• Drug interdiction. Drugs are a primary cause of crime in Bermuda. Customs has the primary role of preventing drugs from entering the Island at the Airport and through the ports, although the Police play a role here too.

• Reducing drug demand; reduce the demand for drugs and reduce crime. Reducing demand is entirely in Government's hands

• Rehabilitation in the prisons. Bermuda's rate of repeat offenders is extraordinarily high. If inmates came out of prison and went straight, crime would fall.

Government's record in these areas is mediocre. The economy is weakening and Government seems powerless to reverse it. Educational reforms, although underway, may take years to take effect. Drug interdiction is poor. Reducing drug demand remains a chimera, despite the latest efforts at rehabilitation facilities. Recidivism remains high, again despite the recent opening of a rehabilitation facility.

It may well be that the Governor is not the best person to exercise control over the Police. On the other hand, there are good reasons why many other countries do not put the Police under the direct control of politicians and instead create an autonomous Police authority. And much depends on the character and vision of the senior command of the Police, regardless of who has operational control. But the real question to be asked is whether the Government, having failed to get to grips with the causes of crime, should now be given direct control over policing as well?