facing huge challenges over attracting new recruits to the force. Karen Smith finds out what the problems are and how they are being tackled.

The man responsible for training new Police recruits in Bermuda is on a mission.

With only six applicants ready to be hired for a training course later this month, he is faced with the likelihood that the 16-week programme will have to be cancelled.

That means new officers will not arrive to replenish the divisions at the start of summer -- the Service's busiest time -- as hoped.

Numbers will be down, and workload will be up.

There are believed to be many reasons behind the lack of interest in the service -- but the biggest one is that policing is simply not viewed as a career opportunity.

That has to change, said Insp. Michael DeSilva, of the Police's training school.

He said a survey of people at Bermuda College, carried out by an officer, asked students to rank each of the Island's four uniformed services in order of prestige, and the Police came out first.

However, when asked to rank the four services in order of which they would be most likely to join, the Police were last.

Changing that trend is the mission of Insp. DeSilva.

He has been working with a team of officers to launch new recruitment initiatives in a bid to boost the ranks and attract Bermudians to join the force.

With school liaison initiatives, such as the REACH programme, now in place, he is hoping more youngsters will begin to consider the Police as a good career to follow.

Until then, he is hoping to make the community more aware of what the Police force offers, and how important it is for Bermudians to get on board.

And most importantly, he said the Service was now becoming more pro-active in recruitment, even approaching people it had been led to believe were interested, and mailing Bermudian students both at home and overseas.

He said: "We cannot place an ad in the newspaper and describe in a small column what this job is all about, as you can with many other professions.

"We have come to realise that a lot of officers were recruited by other officers, and believe this is the way we need to go now.

"We have started to talk more to people about the job, for example on talk shows and the radio, and have started to have one-on-ones with people who are interested.

"We want to do this more. People can come in and sit down and talk to us about what being an officer is all about.'' Last year the Service recruited more than 30 officers from the Caribbean and the UK, but their three-year contracts will come to an end in the summer of 2003.

Unless the Police have recruited from within Bermuda to replace that number, on top of its yearly attrition rate of 35, it may have to continue to look to other countries for staff.

But Insp. DeSilva said it was up to every Bermudian to play their part in encouraging people to join the ranks on Bermuda's thin blue line.

"I think stereotyping of the Police is a problem for us, but hopefully by going into schools and talking to people in the community about what we do, we will begin to break that down,'' he added.

"I think we are supported by the community in our work -- otherwise we would be seeing chaos on the streets everywhere. But I think we need to sell the image of what it's like to have this job as a career.

"People think it looks like a good organisation, but they don't want to be part of it.

"But this is an excellent career for people. There are many opportunities. I don't think pay is a factor -- the pay is good. It's just getting people to think about it as a job.'' The starting salary for a new recruit is $39,780. However, once they have finished their training and are dispatched to a division, with allowances and average overtime, their pay will increase to about $48,000.

Anyone interested in joining the force, or wanting to know more, should call the training school to arrange an informal one-to-one chat with an officer.

Those that wish to apply will be expected to pass a written test and interviews, as well as a medical examination and vetting process. Traffic offences do not disqualify applicants.

For more information, call the training school on 299-4209.

Career guide: Insp. Michael DeSilva