Mr. Dunkley recalled a statement by Public Safety Minister Paula Cox which said they would recruit overseas for skilled training officers if local recruitment was not successful.

"There is no solution to curbing crime, until you solve the manpower issue,'' he said.

"The Commissioner himself was begging for help. It is a shocking, shocking situation when the Police Commissioner has to go public.'' The preceding year had seen many labour disputes, he said, questioning what a Labour Government with the Bermuda Industrial Union president as an MP had done to steady things.

"It is obvious that labour relations have taken a dramatic turn for the worse,'' he said.

But Ms Cox hit back at Mr. Dunkley's accusations over Police recruitment. She said a core functions review of the Service was due to be implemented and any staffing issues should be addressed after that, since efficiencies and redeployment of staff make take place.

She said the Hamilton CCTV cameras would help crime and that planned speed cameras would deter traffic offenders.

The Immigration Department was undergoing some changes to improve customer service, and a new section would oversee training and work permit training attachments, she added.

It would also help to match the skills of Bermudians with those required in the workplace. A website is planned to give information which currently takes up the time of staff in the section.

And in reply to Mr. Dunkley's question over the BIU vetting of construction industry work permit applications, she said it was simply enlarging the scope of who was consulted over such details.

"The BIU is one such group, there is nothing covert or any hidden agenda, nothing I am ashamed of,'' Ms Cox said.

UBP MP Gary Pitman called upon the Government to clarify the situation surrounding gambling machines.

He said the existing operators should be given six months to get rid of the machines, rather than allowing them to stay until they complete their working life.

"It is ridiculous, on the one hand saying they are illegal but to existing operators saying `you go ahead and break the law until they run out','' he said. "The longer the machines are available, the more they will succeed in damaging people who play them.'' Paula Cox Michael Dunkley