Illiteracy is at the heart of the recruitment problems dogging the Police Service, according to former top officer Wayne Perinchief.

Mr. Perinchief, a former Assistant Commissioner of Police, said night classes should be run for illiterate recruits who had passed all the other hurdles.

Last year educators claimed illiteracy could affect as many as one in six Bermudians.

Mr. Perinchief said illiteracy was barring many would-be rookies from signing up while low pay was also putting off recruits.

The recent recruitment drive delivered around half the expected numbers and Police statistics reveal manpower has slumped from 444 to 409.

Mr. Perinchief said: "I believe that illiteracy is the biggest problem causing people to be unsuitable for the Police.

"I believe if Police have recruits that have passed all the other criteria but they don't have the literacy skills, then we should send them to night school. That is what we used to do. There are plenty of courses around.'' However a Police spokesman played down the extent of the problem.

He said: "Literacy is very important to recruits but it is not the only requirement.

"A lot of recruits drop out for other reasons such as they fail the physical, they fail the vetting or they drop out for personal reasons.

"If somebody fails on the literacy, then they have the option to take the test again.'' However the spokesman stressed that Police were not about to lower recruiting standards.

Illiteracy claim Mr. Perinchief, a Progressive Labour Party backbencher, also said Police were not paid enough.

He said: "Policemen should be paid more than prison officers and Customs people. The demands are much higher. They let Police do extra jobs, but why should they need to do them? Bermuda is an affluent society.'' And he called for more flexible recruitment practices.

He said: "Recruitment should be 365 days a year. Not sporadically when they find enough to run a course.

"Give them basic training, then put them on the beat with an experienced Policeman and when you have enough, run a proper course. People who want to join sometimes have to wait ten months for a training course but in other walks of life they would get snapped up.''