Governor should have operational control of the Police.

"So much to do in so little time'' could justifiably describe Police Commissioner Colin Coxall's tour of duty in Bermuda.

Assigned to the do battle against growing crime with an outdated Police Service, Mr. Coxall did not expect his task to be easy.

But the former City of London Assistant Commissioner -- who led major inquiries in the UK, US and Canada, dealt with major riots in London's Brixton area, and was part of the negotiating team during the 1980s siege of the Libyan Embassy in London -- admitted he was unprepared for the political strife which beset him even before he stepped foot on Bermuda's shores.

Hostility from some politicians, he said, caught him off guard. This, he added, also had an impact on his ability to carry out some of his objectives.

In fact, Mr. Coxall said it was time that Bermuda looked at a review of the Constitution and considered placing the operational control of the Police Service solely in the hands of the Governor.

"The constitutional balance is extremely important for Bermuda,'' he said.

"Clearly, it is Government who has to fund the Police Service and the Police Service is an expensive public organisation which has to be correctly funded.

"But I think the operational control should rest with the Governor. And that element of the Constitution needs to be very carefully looked at.'' Despite the political wranglings, Mr. Coxall proudly acknowledged the Police Service's achievements under his leadership.

"We've only seen about 50 percent of the strategy accomplished. That still amounts to a great deal.'' Going through the strategy he released three months after his arrival, Mr.

Coxall noted that many of its key areas -- civilianisation, communication, community policing, and crime prevention -- were well established.

Civilianisation of the Service was well underway, he said, with about 15 officers returning to the beat each year and top civilian posts, including human resources, technology, and media relations filled with qualified people.

Mr. Coxall also noted that the Police Service now had 432 officers, up from 405 earlier this year. And he said this number did not include some 20 new recruits who were undergoing training and reserve officers whose number had more than doubled from fewer than 60 when he arrived to 130.

Of the 432 officers, 16 percent were women, he pointed out. This was up from the ten percent that were in place as a result of an artificial ceiling he found when he arrived and quickly removed.

In fact, Mr. Coxall added 50 percent of the new recruits were also women.

"Very talented young women are coming into the service,'' he said. "We have also been able to put talented women into key areas of service. And I see some of these women moving forward through the Service and taking over senior posts.'' Mr. Coxall also predicts the upward mobility of other officers with proper training and guidance.

Out of the 432 officers, 380 have received some element of training in the last year alone, he noted.

"We had a huge backlog of training. That was one of my biggest problems,'' Mr. Coxall said. "In the UK, where a Police Force would be inspected every year, I would be criticised if I had more than five percent of my staff under training at any given time because you're expected to have your Force up to speed in training.

"We've gone over double that level of training which has meant abstractions of duty have been considerable on occasions. But it is risk that we prepared to take. And my successors will the see the benefit of that, a better trained, equipped Police.'' He also spoke of the reduction in crime that the Island has experienced under his leadership.

"Crime statistics for the first nine months of the year are looking quite attractive,'' he said, noting that in 1995 crime dropped by roughly ten percent; by 33 percent in 1996, and by 64 percent this year. "We were running at about five murders a year when I arrived, we've only had one this year,'' Mr. Coxall added.

He also noted that robbery at street level was down by 43 percent; handbag snatchings down by 76 percent; burglary down by 40 percent; house breaking down by 36 percent; school breaking down by 67 percent; and store breaking down by 49 percent.

Through U-marking and the use of microchips in bikes, bike theft was down by 56 percent, he noted. And of the more than 500 bikes which have been fitted with the microchip, only one had been stolen and was quickly recovered, he said.

"Technology is cheap, Police officers are expensive,'' Mr. Coxall pointed out. "And you cannot make the maximum use of your officers unless you have the right technology.'' But not all is bright in the latest crime statistics; thefts from unattended vehicles had jumped from 135 during the first nine months of 1994 to 212 for the same period this year.

While noting that such thefts could be virtually avoided with care from vehicle owners, Mr. Coxall said he expected such crimes to be reduced by 50 percent once the closed-circuit television was introduced in Hamilton.

And he said he expected such equipment to be in place by February/March.

Mr. Coxall noted that other achievements the Police Service could be proud of included: An increase in the number of Narcotics Department officers by eight, bringing the total close to 30; The consultative community groups of business people and Police officers which have been established in the east, west, and central parts of the Island to get away from "mystery/secrecy policing''; Operation Cleansweep, a joint Police-DEA operation which saw 30 alleged street-level drug dealers arrested in sophisticated sting operations and remanded in custody; The increase in parish constables from nine to 25 and the development of the REACH (Resistance Education And Community Help) scheme in schools; The increase of youngsters participating in the Outward Bound programme from 200 in 1995 to an anticipated 1,000 this year; The revamping of the Police Reserves; and The recently refurbished Police Reserves headquarters at Prospect and Somerset Police Station.