Shadow Home Affairs spokesman Michael Dunkley has accused the Government of being soft on crime after it failed to end confusion on whether foreign Police would be recruited.

On Monday Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox clashed with Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay after he had said permission had been given to look abroad to solve a staffing crisis.

Ms Cox attacked him for releasing the information before Cabinet had given approval.

But yesterday Ms Cox revealed the matter had not even been discussed at Cabinet and she refused to say when it would be put on the agenda.

She said: "I won't discuss what happened in Cabinet. We will be talking about it very soon but it wasn't today.

"When there is something to release we will let you know. But this won't be until the Cabinet is fully briefed.'' But Mr. Dunkley said Government was still dragging its feet despite soaring crime rates.

He said: "There was $50,000 in this year's budget for overseas recruitment so why at this stage are they still saying should we or should we not? "This must have been discussed at Cabinet level many, many months ago.'' However Ms Cox claimed that Mr. Lemay had been quoted out of context on the ZBM broadcast.

Mr. Lemay declined the opportunity to talk to The Royal Gazette yesterday.

And Ms Cox was equally tight-lipped.

"If I discussed recruitment with the Premier and then put it in the newspaper my time as a Minister would be very short-lived and rightly so,'' she said.

And she again appeared to lambast Mr. Lemay for going public on the issue.

She said: "Something that should not have been reported was reported.'' But Mr. Dunkley said: "I'm very concerned there hasn't been some attempt to clear the air and reassure people the Government were getting things done.

"Instead there is just this secrecy. The Government said they would operate in the sunshine of public scrutiny but they are keeping us in the dark.

"This Government is soft on crime. In spite of all the calls from the community and the rising crime nothing happens.'' And Mr. Dunkley said he wondered how long the Government would dither on whether to bring in Police from overseas.

Police confusion attacked Police numbers have slumped from 440 to around 400 although some sources think the figure could be as low as 330, while recent statistics have revealed rocketing crime rates.

Last week Acting Deputy Commissioner Vic Richmond said lack of manpower was hurting efforts to tackle drug pushers.

Mr. Dunkley said: "What more does the Government need to hear to answer this plea for help?'' He added: "The staffing crisis is exacerbated by the fact that around 36 people leave the Force each year through natural attrition -- it's time to bite the bullet and recruit overseas.

"It looks like we have started to put our toes in the water but it's time to take the plunge. Let's make this concrete rather than just a possible.

"The Government was elected to lead -- clearly vacillating for over a year is not leadership.

"There are calls throughout society to do something about recruitment. At this point there's no other avenue.'' He said Bermuda's booming economy with full employment meant local recruitment could not provide all the answers to the force's staffing problems.

Mr. Dunkley also said the public disagreement between the Commissioner and the Minister was disturbing for the public.

He said: "You have got to wonder if the left foot knows what the right foot is doing. The Minister and the Commissioner don't appear to be on the same page.'' Mr. Dunkley said the Progressive Labour Party was dragging its feet on overseas recruitment for ideological reasons.

He said: "They are very reluctant for the simple reason that the PLP is always trumpeting about putting Bermudians first, and that's fine, the UBP says this.

"But there comes a time that you can't let society suffer the detrimental effects of rising crime just because you are afraid to pull the trigger.'' However PLP backbencher and former Assistant Police Commissioner Wayne Perinchief said foreign Police were not a panacea as they took up to a year to make the cultural adjustment after arriving on the Island.

He said: "Bermuda must stop looking overseas for solutions. No other country does this.''