Government last night accused the UBP of "antiquated and anachronistic approaches" to getting tough on crime.

It also emerged it has been looking to bring in former New York Mayor and current Republican Presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani's security firm to assess the Bermuda Police Service.

Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler said: "Sir John Vereker (the departing Governor) believed we should be using a British expert who was busy in Washington D.C. and Florida, and he wanted to know why we wanted to do something different. Near the end of the Governor's time here I think he was warming up to the idea of having the Giuliani firm come here."

Mr. Giuliani formed his security firm after he left the New York Mayor's office in 2002, building on his reputation of helping the city recover in the wake of the September 11 attacks of 2001. The firm advises clients around the world on security issues.

Mr. Butler said: "They (the UBP) want to put young Bermudians in prison, we want to rehabilitate them with the Mirrors Programme. That's a fundamental difference between them and us.

"We have been developing programmes such as Mirrors, the Alternatives to Incarceration initiative and the Hustle Truck, and we are confident they will lead to less crime. We are against things like the 'three strikes' law. We see more hope with catching them (criminals) young and pointing them to job opportunities."

In a statement yesterday, the PLP said: "The Progressive Labour Party believes that the UBP has adopted the wrong approach with respect to crime reduction in Bermuda. Easy, quick and in some cases dangerous proposals such as 'preventative detention', as called for in their 'Agenda for Change', would take Bermuda back to the 1950s. This is definitely not the change that Bermuda needs or wants.

"Mr. Dunkley's Parliamentary votes against the elimination of hanging and flogging speaks more about his law enforcement philosophy than we ever could. Furthermore, the UBP's stated proposal to put people away for life with their American 'three strikes you're out' proposal is right in line with its capital punishment leader. The UBP seem more concerned with locking our young people up, than putting in place the necessary innovative programmes to salvage and maximise our country's limited human potential. "

At a UBP press conference on crime yesterday, Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley said: "The PLP will come back and say the UBP is being too tough on the people of this Island. Let me dispel this myth. As the next Government we will ensure all the laws of Bermuda are upheld. To those people who fall foul of the law we will offer them a helping hand to get them back into society.

"We will uphold our laws but also show human compassion to people in need, to make sure they get back on track."