Lawyers yesterday pleaded with a Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the Bermuda Police drugs squad for tougher rules of conduct for the Service.

Lawyer Delroy Duncan -- who represented ex-detective Lendrea Davis whose allegations sparked the inquiry -- said a new system to handle complaints against Police was needed.

He said: "A more transparent or public system needs to be implemented for the purpose of receiving complaints, whether by Police officers or members of the public, against serving members of the Police service.'' Mr. Duncan also told the Commission that there appeared to be a "disquieting'' number of acquittals in trials by jury "where the evidence, at least on the surface, appears to be straightforward''.

He said a trend -- known as jury nullification -- existed which led juries to disregard the law and do what they believe is right, although he stressed such conduct could not be condoned.

But Mr. Duncan said: "Jury nullification will not take place in the future if the Commission sends a clear and unequivocal signal to the Bermuda Police Service and the general public that conduct of the kind exhibited by certain officers in the trial will neither be condoned or tolerated. This in turn will inspire confidence in the jury system.'' Evidence from Ms Davis, who has since quit the Service, led a Supreme Court judge to order a jury to return formal not guilty verdicts in the June case against then-alleged drugs dealer Ellsworth Wilson, ruling the continuity of evidence had not been maintained.

Mr. Duncan said that -- if an independent body existed -- "a case of this magnitude would have attached checks and balances. If one officer falls down, another is there to say `have you done x, y and z.'' He also backed audio or videotaping of Police interviews with suspects to assure fairness.

Mr. Duncan said: "I am firmly of the view that if we have tape recorded evidence, most attorneys will tell their clients `you have no chance -- you can plead not guilty and risk a heavier sentence'.'' But he came out against dispensing with juries and having a panel of three judges instead -- courts of the type used in Northern Ireland.

Earlier, the court heard from lawyer Mark Pettingill, who told the Commission he had considerable experience in criminal matters, including drugs trials.

He told the Commission that he felt deficiencies in the narcotics department of the Police were due to "lack of manpower, coupled with a lack of equipment and facilities -- although he stressed there were "outstanding'' officers on the Force.

He added that over the last two years, more than 80 percent of his cases, excluding narcotics cases, related to drug abuse.

"From that I deduce that there are thousands of users and addicts in this country and probably hundreds of dealers,'' he said.

He added that, in his experience, the bulk of allegations he heard against the Police -- whether justified or not -- involved the drugs squad.

Mr. Pettingill said legislation to protect civil liberties and the rights of an accused, for example in bail matters, by taking the "peaches'' of the English Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) was the ideal route.

But he added: "Having said that, I think it would be feasible, by way of Force Standing Orders, to set out instructions for operating in the spirit of PACE.''