The following is the conclusion of Friday night's debate on the Police Amendment Act in the House of Assembly.

PLP backbencher and former deputy Police Commissioner Wayne Perinchief said Mr. Barritt admitted the reforms were a step in the right direction, although they did not go far enough.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) from the UK was still a work in process, he said. He would not like to work as an officer in the UK under PACE because the regulations were "extremely impractical" he said.

"It's a morass, and Bermuda should make haste slowly in implementing too many amendments to the criminal code. I would like this country not to follow such a rash move, overturning hundreds of years of practice at the stroke of a pen," he said.

Perception was important, and if people felt safe, the criminal justice system was working, so he warned against relying too much on statistics which show crime has fallen.

"People are saying confidence has been shaken in the Police, in the judicial system to deliver results. I don't see that. The courts had lost some important cases, but it could be the luck of the draw, the unwillingness of a jury to accept evidence, or crown counsel not coming across well, he said.

He warned that if Bermuda had a 100 percent conviction rate it would be a repressive state where defendants did not get a fair chance of being acquitted.

There should not be predictions of doom and gloom and the country should resist the urge to go for quick fixes.

Pembroke East Central MP Ashfield DeVent welcomed the legislation because it would it harder to challenge evidence in court.

Police would need to changed, which went against the mindset of some.

Opposition Whip Maxwell Burgess said the PACE recommendations had been made in the Serious Crimes Commission report about three years, so he questioned why the PLP had waited so long.

There was a perception of lawlessness and that the DPP's office was losing too many court cases. People were wondering whether they should report crime, which was undermining the system.

"There is a growing number of people losing faith and confidence in the system and we need to begin to pull these people back," said Mr. Burgess.

Bermuda was now seeing a "different kind of young person". When he was young, youths fought one on one, without weapons. Now establishments were talking about closing because they could not stand the violence.

PLP backbencher and lawyer Arthur Hodgson blamed "colonialism" and foreigners for the failure to get a conviction in the Rebecca Middleton case. And he took a pot shot at the chairman of the Serious Crimes Commission for being from Guyana rather than Bermuda.

Referring to the Middleton case, he said the investigating authorities believed two were involved in the murder and sex assault of the Canadian teenager and they already had one man they thought the had evidence enough to put away for 20 years, who would testify against the other.

"As a result of colonialism, the imported person changed strategy mid-stream and decided to prosecute the person and they could not use his evidence," said Mr. Hodgson.

"The problem was colonialism and no one has attacked that and it is time people spoke out in this House about this problem. About the problem people have, the hatred of Bermudians where anyone at any time who sees a Bermudian in a post is bound to say another person could do it better.

"The Serious Crimes Commission was headed by a Guyanese, dealing with a prosecuting office that was saturated by Canadians, and it deals with a Police service saturated by non-Bermudians, making promises where we bring in more people.

"My point is the extent to which we have criminal activity in this country and we won't address it until we have a philosophical approach that deals with the concept of humanism and we as a Bermudian society that God has given birth to on this little island, and what we should do."

Attorney General Dame Lois Browne Evans said she had fought for the system to be "legalised and humanised". It was wrong for the UBP to be talking about the three year delay in bringing the legislation and claiming the PLP was soft on crime, when the Government was protecting the people, she said.

A lot of black people did not get justice after slavery was abolished in 1834 until the PLP was formed in 1963. Bermuda did not get an appeal court until 1965. Before that, she said, she knew mistakes had been made by judges but they could not be redressed.

Referring to the Middleton case she said: "Now we have a white young lady that gets murdered in Bermuda, it is a horrible, terrible crime, and suddenly everyone is thinking it is free to denounce the system of justice we have in this country. We never heard such denunciation when all sorts of other people got off," she said.

"All the barbaric sentences what were passed down in the 40,'s, 50's and 60's, I heard no outcry."

It seemed "strange" for Mr. Burgess to join fellow UBP MPs John Barritt and Trevor Moniz in "running down the system of justice".

Mr. Barritt said he did not want a political AG, and wanted the office-holder to remain a civil servant.

PACE was all about bringing greater justice to the system by having videos of Police interviews.

Dame Lois mistook an earlier interjection from white UBP MP Allan Marshall with that of white MP Michael Dunkley. Apologising to Mr. Marshall, she then said: I didn't say the remark but they all look alike, that was (UBP MP) Cole Simons".

The UBP had a "nerve" to criticise the PLP for taking three years to bring this legislation when they didn't have any progressive ideas in 30 years of government.

The bill had to be studied, rather than lift it word for word from the UK legislation.

Shadow Transport Minister Trevor Moniz, who is also the president Bermuda Bar Association said it was no great secret the Opposition shared the feeling of the Bermudian public that there is a "degree of lawlessness and a degree of disrespect for the law and it is not being addressed by the government of the day".

It was fine for Dame Lois to talk about her 50 years' experience in the law, but "you can't get over the fact that murderers are going free and rapists are getting acquitted".

Referring to the case of the woman whose jaw was broke by a man acquitted of serious sexual assault who was not found guilty of any offence, he said "the inference of the people of Bermuda is that there is a degree of negligence on the part of the prosecution in not bringing the appropriate charges.

"The real problem in this system is the lack of political will and too many people not doing their job. It starts from the top down from the Premier and the buck has to stop."

He said Transport Minister Dr.Ewart Brown felt so worried about lawlessness that he felt the need to speak out about it publicly because "he obviously didn't feel it was being addressed in Cabinet".

"There are incidents across this Island where people are murdered and the accused walks free, a woman is raped and her jaw is broken and the accused walks free.

"People in this country feel lawlessness and anarchy are out of control in this community and it is not being addressed."

He said the Serious Crimes Commission spent its time "attempting to blame everyone but those at fault".

As he closed the debate, Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said the bill will have a significant impact.

"To say otherwise would be foolish," he said. "If it wasn't going to do anything, I wouldn't support it.

He pointed out that the PLP Government, with the creation of the Serious Crimes Commission in 2000, had sought closure to crimes that the previous Government had not.

Mr. Lister then said by November last year, 35 out of the 42 recommendations given by the Serious Crime Commission had been carried out.

Along with 12 officers having completed training in a family liaison course, Mr. Lister said after the inquiry suggested that the Central Investigations Department (CID) was not up to standard, its officers were trained in investigative skills.

"We see the shortcomings, we accept what the report says," he said.

As he addressed the recent rise in violence on the Island, Mr. Lister emphasised the Government will not allow thugs to take over the country. But, he conceded that deployment of Police officers has been of concern to him.

"Do we have too many officers behind the desk, or too few on the streets? We've got to figure out how we are deploying our Policemen."

However, he commended the work of officers patrolling Bermuda's borders.

"You can't say everything is going wrong when drug users say they can't find their drug of choice," Mr. Lister said.

He responded to claims that the Government was soft on crime.

"We have taken an alternative route, we believe in rehabilitation. If rehabilitating inmates makes me soft on crime, then label me."

However, Opposition MPs probed the bill further. While Shadow Minister of Health Michael Dunkley said the word practicable seemed to be too ambiguous, he also suggested that more than one officer should be present when a person is being searched.

"I don't think it's fair for them to go one on one," he said.

But when Mr. Lister said the Governor would be establishing a code of practice, which has been already drafted, Shadow Minister of Legislative Affairs John Barritt said he hoped it would be in place the moment the law comes into effect.

Labour and Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister confirmed changes introduced in December to the Prison Service to abolish the post of deputy commissioner and create four assistant commissioners, dealing with prison operations, inmate support services, administration, and human resources.

As far as he was aware, the deputy commissioner, whose salary remained the same, had accepted the new post. There had been full consultation with the unions, which supported the changes.

During the motion to adjourn, Shadow Telecommunications Minister Alan Marshall accused Government of "speaking with forked tongues" by giving out mixed and confusing messages which undermined their credibility.

He said Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott was the most glaring example, citing controversies over hedge trimming, private financing for government projects, wasted opportunities for Bermuda Land Development Corporation to develop Morgan's Point, and the Berkeley School project.

Mr. Marshall went through a series of statements Mr. Scott made about progress on Berkeley and whether it would be open this September and accused the PLP of "hypocrisy" by claiming to support Bermudian businesses, then having to bring in an overseas consultant to review the senior school project.

"The minister set up (Berkeley contractor) Pro-Active for a fall from the beginning and it seems he's only just realised it now," said Mr. Marshall.

The public and the "Berkeley family" had been let down because the PLP had let "arrogance and self-righteousness" get in the way of good practice, he said.

As with the PLP introducing drug testing in prisons but refusing to test their own MPs, it showed they had no credibility, said Mr. Marshall.

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley said there was a concern the prisons were close to "anarchy" and that morale among staff was at an all-time low.

The dog unit was understaffed with just two officers and it was not being used in conjunction with the ion scan to track drugs, said Mr. Dunkley.

He said the scan had not been used at the co-ed facility, and he questioned when it had last been used it the prison farm.

He accused Government of removing a black Bermudian deputy prison commissioner by abolishing his post, which was "despicable" coming from the PLP which claimed to support black empowerment.

He said the PLP had written a blank cheque for Kurron, the American management consultants brought in to review the Island's hospitals.

It was the "height of irresponsibility" not to have agreed a price for consultants and by keeping it open ended, they were inviting Kurron to milk the tax-payer out of large sums of money, he claimed.

"If we have no contract for Kurron, do we have contracts for the other $20 million for consultants?" he asked.

He noted PLP backbencher and Bermuda Industrial Union president Derrick Burgess would point out that when there are problems, management must take some responsibility. In the case of the hospitals, the management was the PLP government, which had to accept the blame.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said home-owners had been diligent in keeping their trees trimmed following controversy about the way his staff cut back overhanging bushes.

A Poinciana Tree painted in Serpentine Road will be replaced soon as someone had come forward with a donation. The tree had been hit by a container truck, he added.

The private cash for public projects initiative was being actively considered and a statement was expected soon.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell renewed the Opposition's attack on the changing of the rules for political broadcasts.

He said Broadcast Chairman Tim Marshall had been sacked for standing up to the Government over the Premier's broadcast.

Transport Minister Dr. Brown denied this and said if it was the case Mr. Dodwell wouldn't be privy to it.

Mr. Dodwell said: "It would not take a rocket scientist to work out why he was not re-appointed. Notwithstanding the Attorney General called him `dopey' and then said `they were all dopey'."

He said the entire credibility of the Government was dubious because of the string of buried reports which came after the PLP said they would rule with transparency, accountability and in the sunshine of public scrutiny.

He listed the civil services review, the OECD report, the Southside asbestos report - a problem which he said had come from the mishandling by a PLP member.

Mr. Dodwell noted that PLP MP Dale Butler had wanted the reports published. Mr. Dodwell said: "Obviously someone on that side believes credibility is at stake."

He said Government ignored parliamentary questions on its use of consultants for months on end. He said the promised debate on the Accountant General's Berkeley report had slipped off the order paper and then Works and Engineering minister Alex Scott had slipped it into the budget debate without warning.

Credibility was also damaged by the fake tourism advert featuring a scene from a Hawaii which the tourism minister had tried to brush off said Mr. Dodwell.

Mr. Dodwell said Parliament was in limbo because the Speaker had ruled MPs could not discuss the corruption allegations at the Bermuda Housing Corporation even though the whole Island was talking about it and nothing was being done.

He said the Speaker had ruled it was sub judice. Mr. Dodwell said he wished it was sub judice and a court case was in place but he said at the moment nothing was happening.

He said: "It's very convenient to be in this place. It's a cover up."

The Speaker, Stanley Lowe said the rule was MPs should not anticipate a report that has get to get heard.

Opposition Works and Engineering spokesman Erwin Adderley returned to the subject of the new Berkeley which he had visited recently.

He said it wouldn't be open before 2004 and said Government were hampering building by continually insisting on changes which was putting the project further and further behind.

He said the whole structure of the roof had to be changed significantly.

He said there were 125 changes - some were quite simple but others complicated such as changes to a stairway.

Mr Adderley said Mr. Scott had no idea of when the project was going to be finished or how much it was going to cost.

He said Mr. Scott pretended he had been very helpful to ProActive but instead had interfered.

Government had not paid the contractor any money upfront to get materials said Mr. Adderley meaning that ProActive was in financial trouble from the start.

He said the minister had said there was additional staff but there were very few staff on the site when he visited.

Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said calls for a curfew for youngsters were missing the point because it would punish those who didn't get in trouble.

He responded to opposition points about the prison saying they were complaining a Bermudian had been passed over for the job as Prison Commissioner but the UBP had not promoted the very same person when he was in line for the top job in 1991.

He said the Opposition were complaining there weren't enough ion-scanners but they had not installed any when they were in Government.

Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons said fear of crime was hitting tourism and would affect international business. He said an international business leader had told him his staff were continually getting their homes burgled.

Government backbencher Wayne Perinchief said the BFA should not have cancelled games because of fears of gang violence.

He said Black Entertainment Television was harmful because it denigrated women and glamorised thugs.

Mr. Perincheif said there had been a lowering of standards and he attacked the notion that the 11 plus had been elitist. He said: "Everyone had the opportunity to pass it."

Shadow Minister for Community Affairs Cole Simons said he was pleased that Mr. Scott had finally admitted publicly that Berkeley would not be completed on deadline and questioned whether Education Minister Paula Cox was prepared for this.

But Ms Cox said a contingency plan was already in place.

"For anyone to get up and talk about mass confusion is unacceptable," she said.

Mr. Simons also said he was "pleasantly surprised and dumbfounded" when Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said he agreed that everyone must work together to address the concerns of Bermuda's youth. Especially, he said, when in the past a motion was made to form a joint committee be formed to do this, nothing happened.

Recalling watching the recent disturbance between youths on Elliot Street, Government backbencher Ashfield DeVent said the community had to admit that it was failing Bermuda's children.

And he said some of the problems the country is experiencing is the result of the actions of adults of the past.

"Someone has to shoulder the responsibility for people who cannot read or write."

Mr. DeVent also said he was bothered that sports clubs were no longer a place to frequent and feel safe.

"Almost every club has become a place where drugs are being sold.

"If people volunteered one or two hours a week to take back their neighbourhood clubs, it is a step so that our children will have a place to go."

And he said the problems Bermudians are seeing were not new.

"We've had a lot of social problems in our society that the then-Government failed miserably to address," Mr. DeVent said.

But he said the community needed to reach a point of empathy and understanding. To keep locking them up and throwing away the key will not work, he said.

Health Minister Nelson Bascome said he felt the youth sometimes sought instant gratification and that values were often lost to material things.

"Our forefathers fought so that their children would be better off than they were. Young people saw their parents toil and along the way they lost their family values."

Mr. Bascome also said some of the young people believed these are the last days because that is the message constantly been given to them.