More than three-quarters of Bermuda's prison inmates end up back behind bars after their release. And, unless steps are taken to reverse the "alarming'' trend, the new Westgate Correctional Facility will soon be overflowing.

That warning came yesterday from Health and Social Services Minister Harry Soares.

Mr. Soares told The Royal Gazette the recidivism rate -- the percentage of inmates who return to prison after their release -- was 77 percent.

"That's alarming,'' he said.

And it underscored the need for a halfway house to help convicts return to the community. Mr. Soares said he had a site for a halfway house in mind and hoped to reveal it soon and get public feedback.

"We do have a disturbingly large number of people in Westgate,'' Mr. Soares said. "The numbers have continued to climb in the last six to eight months. I do believe that one way to reduce that is to cut down on the recidivism rate.'' Alternative sentencing could be another answer, he said. "Some people in Westgate, you question whether or not they should be there.'' Westgate, which opened late in 1994, was built to hold 208 prisoners and was expected to meet the Island's needs for many years.

But already the empty spaces in the prison were hovering around 20 to 25, getting down to as few as 15 on weekends, Mr. Soares said.

"I don't think we're perilously in danger of having too many inmates, but it's something that warrants our full attention, and it's getting that.'' Asked about a claim made in the House of Assembly on Friday that Prisons Deputy Commissioner Mr. Marvin Trott was "not allowed'' to go to Westgate, Mr. Soares said: "I have no authority to assign staff to the various locations that we have.

"But I can say that I have asked Management Services, and they're in the process of doing this now, to do a complete review of staffing in the whole Prison Service.'' Prison Commissioner Mr. Edward Dyer did not return telephone calls from The Royal Gazette .

When Mr. Trott was asked about the claim from Opposition House Leader Mr.

Reginald Burrows, he said: "I certainly have no comment to make whatsoever to that issue, and that's it.'' Mr. Soares said the Management Services report, which he requested five or six weeks ago, was to include staffing levels and qualifications for both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel.

The review was "appropriate,'' since Westgate had now been open for a full year.

Regarding another concern voiced by Mr. Burrows that young male inmates were mixing with female inmates at the Women's Prison at Ferry Reach, Mr. Soares said nobody had raised any specific concerns with him.

It was true that male inmates younger than 21 were kept at the facility. But, "I went down there myself, and they seemed to be adequately segregated in locked-off different sections,'' he said. "If someone wants to bring me some information on a confidential basis, I'd be more than happy to investigate.'' The good news in the Prison service was recent approval to renovate and extend youth facilities at Prospect to create a secure custody facility for about 30 young people between the ages of 12 and 17, Mr. Soares said.

Early this year, opposition by neighbours forced Government to abandon its plan to create the facility at Tudor Farm in Southampton.

Mr. Soares said he was reviewing the design specifications for the youth lock-up before sending them off to Works & Engineering. While $1.5 million was set aside for the project this year, he could not say when it would be ready.