Comparing the task of implementing his Service Strategy with that of "re-fitting a ship while still at sea'', Bermuda's Commissioner of Police Colin Coxall is nevertheless, "extremely pleased'' with progress made at the half-way mark. It is now 18 months since most of the recommendations, set out in his Service Strategy of June 1995, began to be implemented.

"A ship is normally placed in dry-dock to re-equip and re-train -- and only then returns to sea,'' he explains, "but we had to embark on a complete re-organisation and re-training programme while attempting to reduce the level of crime at the same time -- all of this while we were sailing along at the equivalent of 30 knots!'' He says he totally deprecates the efforts made, in some quarters, to politicise the Police Service. "This attitude is wholly alien to the structure that I have come from! Policing should be completely neutral and I still hope to achieve unity with all politicians who, as community representatives, have a vested interest in a low crime rate -- an aim that is certainly supported by the twin pillars which support Bermuda's economy -- that of Tourism and International Business.'' Despite the politically motivated carping, the Commissioner's Strategy has, thus far, been greeted with a chorus of approval throughout the general community. As Mr. Coxall himself points out, the sharp reduction in crime which has accompanied the application of his Strategy, ultimately speaks for itself.

During a routine inspection here last week, Inspector General Lionel Grundy referred to this reduction as "remarkable'', praising the obvious effectiveness of the Strategic Plan since the Commissioner took over the reins of Bermuda's Police Service. Describing Mr. Coxall as "a very distinguished police officer'', he said the success and underlying wisdom of the Strategy was already being "evidenced in many ways''.

Mr. Grundy's report of his last visit here in 1994 on behalf of Britain's Dependent Territories, was made at a time when crime was escalating rapidly and police morale was at an all-time low. While his report was never made public, it is believed to have been damning in its assessment of the way in which Bermuda's Police Service was then being run and led to the decision to seek outside help in both restoring morale and returning the Service to a standard that would compare favourably with overseas standards.

Besides assessing new procedures and practices which are now in place, Mr.

Grundy noted that, during his week-long visit, he had also met personally with the Bermuda Police Association which represents 97 percent of the Service. It was encouraging, he said, to find that the Association is fully behind the Commissioner. "They understand and support completely what he is trying to achieve. We have to remember that a Plan of this magnitude takes some time before it's fully implemented. I've been especially impressed,'' he added, "by the level of enthusiasm and support by the younger members for this increase in professionalism and the vastly improved morale.'' Mr. Grundy confirmed that one of the tasks facing the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Jean-Jaques Lemay (the latter now on secondment from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) was to identify senior officers within the Police Service who have the potential to rise to the top. He said: "But this has to be done at an early stage so that they can gain the experience and very extensive training that is absolutely necessary to successfully fill a top job.'' Aimed specifically at taking the Bermuda Police Service into the 21st century, the Commissioner's broad-based plans were consolidated into 103 `Strategic Intents', most of which have now been undertaken or are in process of implementation.

Going through the various sections of the Strategy, Mr. Coxall points out that statistics released for the fourth quarter of 1996 (compared with that of 1994) are indeed dramatic, with total thefts falling from 108 to 62, breaking offences from 531 to 299 and total bicycle removals showing an astonishing drop from 780 to 260. (He maintains, incidentally, that the revolutionary use of microchips could eventually eliminate bicycle thefts completely). Crime overall has been more than slashed in half, from 1,540 to 715 incidents. With violent crime down from 121 to 94 incidents, Mr. Coxall finds this figure still unacceptable but is confident that this will improve as the overall Strategy fully "kicks in'' and more officers are made available for active policing.

Conceding that some of the necessary changes have been "painful'', Mr. Coxall says that alterations in the structure of the Service, now largely completed, has brought about an essential reduction in top-heavy management, with urgent emphasis being placed on the training and re-training of capable officers. "I think it's fair to say that all the senior officers were both gratified and slightly taken aback by what we have managed to achieve so far! The Strategy has been the bible of the Service and certainly concentrates the mind on what has to be done. I felt it was vital for the whole Service to know the direction in which it must proceed, so that there's a positive feeling for the future.'' Emphasising that he is "deeply grateful'' for the level of enthusiasm and support he has received from all levels of serving officers, he adds, "There have been more changes here than in any other organisation I have ever been associated with. It's been a massive task because the changes have encompassed every single section of the Service. We've now reviewed the changes made and highlighted those we intend to prioritise during the coming months.'' It is the Commissioner's belief that Community Policing provides the entire underpinning for Bermuda's Police Service and, in keeping with current Police methods world-wide, is the desirable alternative to confrontational policing.

"I see a sustained advantage in moving police officers from sedentary, office-bound jobs back into the community, to deliver our primary service of street-level policing. So, our civilianisation programme which is now well underway, has enabled us to appoint 25 parish constables with four working in Hamilton. This helps reassure the public with a stronger uniformed presence on the streets.'' As part of the `community' approach, Mr. Coxall has also encouraged the complete reorganisation of Bermuda's Reserve officers. To enhance their image, their official title was changed from that of Bermuda Reserve Constabulary to Bermuda Reserve Police. "When I arrived here, we had approximately 60 Reserve officers -- ill-trained and ill-equipped. Now, with 102 officers, we have refurbished their headquarters accommodation, changed their uniform and training and fundamentally brought them in line with the regular officers.'' On a recent recruiting night, Mr. Coxall was delighted to see approximately 60 Bermudians turn up, with 50 applying to join. "I asked them why they wanted to join the Reserves and they all replied that they wanted their community to be a safer place. My ambition is to aim for 150 Reserves this year, as they are performing a very valuable service in the community.'' One of the most imaginative outcomes of the `community' concept was the instigation of the Resistance Education and Community Help (REACH) programme, spearheaded by Ch. Insp. Gertrude Barker under which police have been jointly trained by the Education Department and the Police Training Department to work in the Island's schools. With the pilot scheme covering pre-school and primary school levels, Mr. Coxall says the scheme is already scoring full marks. "We have one sergeant and four officers working full-time in the schools and the feedback I have received from the head teachers is enormously encouraging.'' Most would agree that the most urgent problem still facing Bermuda is the proliferation of illegal drugs. "Our best information,'' reveals Mr. Coxall, "is that over 80 percent of the people we deal with on a criminal basis have a drug dependence, so it is essential that drug prevention and crime prevention are co-ordinated. With this in mind, we have significantly increased the size of our Narcotics Department and the American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently provided on-Island training for 21 officers.

I am very pleased with my developing relationship with the Drug Commission and Council Partners who are preparing drug prevention strategy.'' Pointing out that 85 percent of the Police Service's $23 million budget is spent on human resources (salaries), Mr. Coxall emphasises that the training and career development of officers, so woefully neglected in the past, has consequently assumed the utmost importance in his Strategy.

"Our Training Department has recently trained 24 CID officers and some 20 officers have attended child sex abuse courses. 140 officers have already attended the domestic violence course to improve our ability to handle the unacceptable level of domestic violence within Bermudian society.'' He reveals that there is now a "much closer'' relationship with the Women's Resource Centre, with the chairman of the Centre now a member of the Service civilian staff. "They use our premises free of charge for training and are deeply involved in the training of our officers to bring us closer together.'' By the end of this year, 50 percent of chief inspectors will have received overseas training and 60 percent of inspectors. "Three of our chief inspectors recently returned from senior managerial training in Ottawa,'' says Mr. Coxall. "They did a presentation for me on aspects of that training and I was delighted by their enthusiasm and highly improved performance. All in all, I am very pleased by the way in which all of our officers have responded to training and to new deployments and postings.'' The appointment of a career development officer will better enable the Service to improve the recruiting process and sustain an overseas exchange programme to maximise skills by means of exposing them to other police environments. The first of these takes effect this week when Ch. Insp. George Jackson and Ch.

Insp. Jonathan Smith are seconded to the Metropolitan Police for intensive training and experience in London, with two officers arriving to work here on exchange for six months. Also on the training front, Mr. Coxall reports that public order training has now been carried out, with officers re-equipped with suitable equipment, including riot shields and flame-proof overalls for use in the event of major public disorder.

Commissioner Coxall: We have to protect officers as well as possible "Hopefully,'' he adds, "this will never be necessary, but any efficient Police Service should have the capacity to deal effectively, and as safely as possible, with any public disorder.'' Mr. Coxall says it is unreasonable to ask officers to engage in potentially dangerous work unless they are protected as well as possible. The Service is being re-trained to use the new, rigid bar handcuffs and the modern `asp' batons -- an exercise, incidentally, which involves almost 5,000 man-hours of training.

Det. Supt. Vic Richmond will be visiting Miami to link up with the Caribbean intelligence system which concentrates, in the main, on narcotics. "This system will give us access to the FBI, the DEA as well as British intelligence data bases and, in particular, will allow us to track the movement of yachts visiting Bermuda,'' reveals Mr. Coxall.

On the subject of the Marine Section, the Commissioner says that improvements there are also "dramatic'', with two magnificent new boats, one gifted by the DEA and the other purchased to give a capability of patrolling Bermuda's territorial waters in all weathers. "An intensive course began just this week, with a team from the Canadian Coastguard training our marine officers on boat handling, marine rescue and underwater searches. I was particularly concerned,'' says Mr. Coxall, "that we were ill-equipped to handle search and rescue in the event of a boating disaster. Our new equipment and training now enables us to convey sick or injured people and to transport fire fighters and equipment if a fire at sea should occur.'' He says that, in this connection, he would like to make mention of "two very public-spirited individuals -- William Frith and Edgar Humann -- who have launched a Marine and Search charity. They have already secured substantial funds from the community to develop, in conjunction with the Marine Section, a Lifeboat Service. "I am very grateful to them -- and I'm sure that the trustees of this charity would be very happy to hear from anyone who would like to help them with the life-saving effort!'' Another urgent problem facing the new Commissioner on his arrival here was the deplorable state of Police buildings and accommodations. Admitting he was shocked at the level of dilapidation, he says that Somerset Police Station, "the worst I have ever visited in the world'' is being completely refurbished and should provide West Enders with a facility they can be proud of by April.

"I'm grateful to Government and especially to Works and Engineering who have supported me all the way on this project.'' Scenes of Crime, until recently housed in "disgraceful, completely inadequate'' quarters at Prospect, has now re-located to the Base Lands at St.

George's. "This is a huge improvement on what the officers had to endure in the past! They are now better equipped, better trained -- and a number of these officers will be attending courses in the UK this year.'' The other major refurbishment slated for this year will be that of the Police Headquarters building. Mr. Coxall says he was "astonished'' to see from a photograph that even in the mid-1970s, this was still a beautiful building but was then systematically wrecked. "The wonderful upper and lower balconies were all destroyed and huge, concrete air-conditioning units were slapped on the front of this superb building. So this architecturally important building will be restored to its former glory, bringing back the integrity of the outside facade and the interior renovated and modernised.'' In addition, CID headquarters will also be re-equipped as befits a truly professional Service.

"They will then lead all of our narcotics and major crime enquiries and that will have a huge impact on solving major crime here.'' The appointment of Suzette Edmead, civilian human resource manager was a major step forward, believes the Commissioner. "She is working on a comprehensive policy, including the recruitment of more able, better educated Bermudians, with new performance appraisal systems that will underpin career development, as well as grievance procedures, and a wellness programme that looks at health and fitness. Our newly equipped gym which opens soon, should also be of enormous help.'' A new head of Technology and Communications has also been appointed. "Michael Tucker's primary task will be to review our antiquated radio and communications system, together with our inadequate, ten-year old computer system.'' A future plan is being worked on now which, if approved, would see the Corporation of Hamilton and the business sector collaborating in the installation of crime prevention systems in the city, in line with practices currently employed in the US and Europe. "I led the project to install these systems in central London and would like to get them in place here before I leave Bermuda,'' explains Mr. Coxall. Similarly, legislation will be introduced to Parliament to bring in electronic speed detection equipment which will automatically photograph the number plates of speeding vehicles.

"The arrival of Deputy Commissioner Lemay will also assist with this whole process of change. He has extensive experience in personnel work, including career development, and he will be heading up a large number of departments including training, human resources, technology and administration -- all of which he is very well equipped to lead. So I would say that, all in all, at this half-way stage, we are well on schedule with our plans for a re-vitalised and efficient Police Service,'' reflects Mr. Coxall. Noting that the training of just one public order unit to a "reasonable'' level of efficiency involved some 800 man-hours, he makes the point that the re-training of some 400 officers has been a truly mammoth task. "This has had considerable impact on our ability to deliver in the short term -- but when we have got over the training hump, the Bermuda Police Service will be very greatly improved. I am completely confident about that.'' NEW LOOK FOR WEST END -- Described by Commissioner Coxall as "the worst Police station I have ever visited in the world'', renovations of the Somerset headquarters should be completed in April.

Commissioner Colin Coxall is happy with the progress.