Police attempts to crackdown on crime are being hampered by victims with ?instant amnesia?, it has been claimed.suggested the law should be strengthened to combat the ?silence factor? blighting the Island.

He said there was a ?zipped-up lips? attitude when it came to helping Police fight a rising tide of violence. And he said victims got ?instant amnesia? when asked to help with crime-fighting measures like identification parades.

Responding to budget statement on policing, Mr. Burgess said he was disappointed there was no mention of this problem from Government.

?If we are going to come to grips with violence we have to encourage, assist and cajole these victims to begin to tell all that they know,? said the Opposition member, who later raised the idea of possible legislation that he said would cover ?impeding? crime investigations.

Turning his attention to the narcotics trade, he said that if drugs worth $20 million had been seized in 2005 then he estimated ? based on the assumption that only ten percent is caught ? that this meant some $180 million had sneaked through customs.

As a result, he said there were a few ?Mr. Bigs? on the Island and he expected the Police narcotics department to get more than an ?inflationary bump-up? from $3.3 million to $3.5 million.

?We are in trouble, we are in deep, deep trouble,? warned Mr. Burgess, who noted the strain drug-related crime was putting on the overcrowded prison system. He questioned how $180 million could be hidden from authorities. ?People tell me it?s pretty well known where it is, but they laugh saying nothing will be done about it. That can?t continue if we are serious about the scourge of drugs.?

He said assets of dealers had to be seized as an example to others that they could be next.

Mr. Burgess said he was encouraged by plans to bring an anti-gang expert to Bermuda. But he said too many households in Bermuda were taking drug money and called for a return to ?old fashioned morality?.

And he said that ten community leaders should be charged with the task of unearthing Police chiefs of the future.

Mr. Burgess said nearly 90 percent of the current prison population consisted of black males, many for bike-related traffic offences, before calling for a ?big brother? mentoring programme that would see successful black males take disillusioned youngsters under their wings.

?We have got to say to black males who have been successful that it is not good enough to sit at home and count your money or walk around town in a three-piece suit.?

He said that people who opted out of the project needed to be seen as letting Bermuda down. ?It?s our problem and we have got to fix it.?

The Shadow Minister also raised the issue of suspended Police officers.reported in January how Bermuda?s Police Commissioner and the Minister of Home Affairs remained tight-lipped over when decisions will be made on the future of four officers on long-term suspensions. That came after the fact that almost half a million dollars has been paid to the officers since they have been off work was highlighted in Parliament.

And during Wednesday?s debate Mr. Burgess raised concerns that nothing was mentioned in Mr. Horton?s budget speech on the issue.

?I thought we would hear today that we could expect those people back in uniform,? he said, demanding faster action. ?The criminals are laughing at us.?