Public Safety Minister Sen. David Burch yesterday raised the stakes in the political crisis that the Island has been thrown into due to the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal.

He did so in what now seems to have all of the signs of a calculated campaign to put Independence on the front burner through a trumped up dispute with the Governor over the leaked documents from the BHC investigation.

Although Sen. Burch made the call without referring to the BHC probe and the criticisms by Premier Dr. Ewart Brown of the Governor in the relation to the leaked documents, only the willfully blind can fail to see the connection.

That throws Sen. Burch's claims of frustration over Public Safety Ministers' inability to direct the operations of the Police into doubt. And it is worth noting that only one day earlier, Government — not Government House -- released the following statement on his behalf in relation to an armed robbery of a guest house: "The Minister of Public Safety and Housing, Lt. Col. David Burch, OBE, ED, JP, has assured residents and visitors that the Bermuda Police Service is using every and all available resources to apprehend the perpetrators who committed this heinous act. Minister Burch has requested the Bermuda Police Service make this incident a 'top priority', pointing out that such an act is not typical of 'our Bermudian culture'.

"The Minister has also advised that he has been kept 'fully abreast' of all aspects of the investigation relating to this incident and has assured that he will update the public of any further developments as they unfold."

So what changed between Tuesday, when he had "requested" that the Police make the investigation a top priority — as they undoubtedly had — and would keep the public fully abreast of events and yesterday? Sen. Burch was not saying, and the guessing here is that nothing had.

There are times when there are frustrations between the Police and the elected Government. There may well be disagreements between politicians and the professional officers who lead and staff the service about the best deployment of resources, as there was, on a slightly different note, between the Corporation of Hamilton and the Police some months ago when the City wanted a higher uniformed profile on the streets.

But Sen. Burch's demand to assume control of the Police as a Cabinet Minister goes too far. Government House's responsibility for the Police is one of the checks and balances built into the Bermuda system of governance, and with good reason.

It protects the Police from political interference, and it enables them to be free to investigate politicians when need be. That is a vital function, since politicians around the world have a long history of corruption, and there is no reason to think that Bermuda is, or could be, immune.

In any event, Independent countries tend to build the same kinds of safeguards into their systems of governance, with autonomous Police commissions or authorities overseeing the operational direction and assuring the independence of the Service.

That's not to say politicians have no control. They can exert gentle pressure, and, as they do in Bermuda, they also control the budget, which despite Sen. Burch's disdain yesterday, is a remarkably powerful weapon.

Sen. Burch, who, it is worth remembering, publicly criticised Dr. Brown three years ago for failing to declare an interest over the controversial sale of his Flatts house to the BHC, doth protest too much.

His speech yesterday was too coincidental and contrived to be taken seriously, except as part of Dr. Brown's attempt to force Independence through a spurious campaign of provocation.

And he should bear in mind former Premier Alex Scott's statement in today's newspaper that, as much as he wants Independence, he does not want it this way.