appear in court to give evidence.

The statement -- made by Magistrate Edward King and Director of Public Prosecutions Khamisi Tokunbo -- that Police officers could receive warrants or be subpoenaed was justified. See related story, Page 5 .

In addition, Police officers who fail to give evidence should be disciplined by the Service; when they do not go to court, they are failing to do their job.

This is a disservice to the accused, who often is made to wait for months to have his or her case heard.

It is a far more serious disservice to the victim of a crime, who may see the person who committed the offence get off scot-free not because of a poor investigation, but because of sloppiness and laziness. There is no excuse for that and it brings the whole of the Service into disrepute.

New Commissioner Jonathan Smith, who took up the reins of power on Thursday, needs to make it clear to all the officers under his command that failing to give evidence in court is unacceptable and that no case is complete until it has been to court.

It is not clear whether the officers' failure to appear is due to laziness, failure to communicate leave plans and other absences to the DPP's office to due to lack of manpower.

However, Mr. Smith and the DPP need to work together to ensure that these absences never happen.

STRIKE THREAT EDT Strike threat The Bermuda College's lecturers warning that they will strike is worrying, because it could place students' examinations in jeopardy.

If that is the case, it could place the careers and futures of the students in jeopardy. That would be a major burden for the striking lecturers, regardless of the validity of their case.

And it does appear that the lecturers have some cause for complaint. Two years have passed since they had a contract and negotiations have now broken down.

It is hard to say whether the College or the lecturers are in the right because the terms of the talks breakdown have not been made public. It is more likely, as is the case in most deadlocked labour talks, that neither side is entirely right or wrong.

But it is incumbent on both sides to get back to the table and to hammer out an agreement. That is one of the intentions of the 21-day notice period. It would be a tragedy for the administration, faculty and especially the students if an agreement was not reached.