A homegrown anti-gang initiative will be implemented in Bermuda if the Progressive Labour Party is returned to Government, according to Minister for Public Safety David Burch.

Although experts have been brought in from overseas in the past to address the spiralling problem of gang violence, Sen. Burch said the local scheme is needed "so we do not then have to go through trying to explain to people where the problem spots are. Someone from here has knowledge of it already".

A plan has already been put to Cabinet along with funding proposals. Sen. Burch did not go into further details on the initiative but said it's "an exciting programme novel to Bermuda" and "good to go" if the PLP is elected.

Quizzed about the call from Marsha Jones, mother of murdered teen Shaundae Jones, for more specialist Police officers trained in dealing with serious crimes, he said the Police force has recruited more than 50 officers from overseas in the past year.

"They come with a variety of experience including murder investigations from other jurisdictions. The expertise does exist within the Police Service," he said, adding that the problem is being able to persuade witnesses to help the detectives.

One step taken to address this prior to the election was getting permission to add text-messaging to the Crime Stoppers hotline, something which remains in the planning stages.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) was passed into law in December 2005, but has only been partially implemented.

Enacted in the UK in 1984, PACE was brought in to replace the antiquated Judge's Rules that govern the way the Bermuda Police Service operates, and modernise arrest and detention procedures and the searching and questioning of suspects.

Sen. Burch said: "We are stymied in that we don't have a Parliament because we are at the stage where some additions are required to the Act that were down to be tabled on November 9.

"That didn't happen but will be tabled on the first day of Parliament if we are returned to Government."

However, UBP candidate and lawyer Mark Pettingill poured cold water on what Sen. Burch had to say about PACE. "They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants, then changed Attorney General and have shelved it. Why has it been shelved?

"It's not been implemented, it's not in place, and they have not offered an explanation. They've had two years to tweak that legislation. Why was it not done before?"

He praised the Mirrors programme introduced by Government to steer at-risk youths away from a life of crime, but said his party would implement more rehabilitation programmes in the prisons. He also pledged that the United Bermuda Party would work to implement a full witness protection programme for Bermuda.