Police Service by the politically motivated dumping of Commissioner Colin Coxall there has been a fair amount of pooh poohing from the politicians. But then they would do that, wouldn't they, since they got Bermuda in this mess to start with.

This newspaper was virtually called unBermudian for suggesting that in the interest of having free and unfettered and unfearful leadership of the Police Service, the Commissioner of Police should always be brought in from outside to serve for five years and then replaced. In that way a Commissioner would not owe any favours inside the Force because of long familiarity with other officers. The outside Commissioner would also be free of Bermudian "friends and relations'' who might ask for favours or extra consideration. It is, we think, essential that a Commissioner should be able to police Bermuda with an even hand, "without fear or favour'', and thus any Commissioner should not be vulnerable to the whims, the demands or the political favouritism which generally motivate politicians of all stripes.

It has been argued that bringing in Commissioners from outside would discourage Bermudians who would not be able to reach the top of the Police Service. That sounds good but is it true? Bermuda does not apply the theory to the courts or to the Attorney General's department. In Britain most Chief Constables are brought in from other areas of the Country for exactly the reasons we have outlined above. The same is true of a great many North American cities. The Cayman Islands, a major competitor for Bermuda's international company business, does it. Those places recognise the importance of independence to Police Chiefs. Yet Bermuda's politicians pooh pooh that kind of integrity.

Many Bemudians in the Police Service know from the beginning that they are unlikely ever to reach the top yet they stay and serve well. All the non-Bermudian born Police officers have it made very clear to them that their chances of reaching the top are virtually nil, yet they go on serving and many serve well. If some Bermudians are discouraged by the certainty that the Commissioner will come from outside, then that may well be the price Bermuda has to pay so that all of the people, on this Island, know they are being evenly policed.

Perhaps the politicians will tell us what they have against fair and even policing. One has already made it clear that he considered himself above the law. It seems to us that politicians may have it firmly in mind that a Police Commissioner who is guaranteed independence would have no truck with them. Now that is to be desired.

We have said before and we still believe that no new Commissioner of Police will be appointed until after a General Election because the ministers who caused the Coxall mess will not want to listen to Alex Scott complain all the way to the polling places.

We also believe that the decision to reevaluate the top Police officers will drag on and on simply because the officers themselves will find ways not to cooperate. Bermuda was first told the evaluation would the finished by February. Now it seems that the evaluations will start in February. Lionel Grudy, the Inspector General of Dependent Territories Police Forces has already done the job. In some cases his evaluation is not pretty. Perhaps that's the problem.