Government yesterday pledged to reopen St. George's Police Station by December 1.

Works and Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess said work had begun on renovations to the interior of the listed building, which has been closed since January 2 last year.

He told The Royal Gazette: "Work on St. George's Police Station has started and it is anticipated will be complete on or before December 1."

Opposition Leader Kim Swan accused Government at the weekend of reneging on an election promise to reopen the station.

He said St. George's was suffering from the lack of a dedicated Police station and that a spate of recent burglaries had "underlined the continuing failure of the Government to live up to its pre-election promise".

But Mr. Burgess said yesterday: "As far as having a Police building in any particular parish, I don't think a building can stop crime. You need a Police presence and also information from the public, as the Police are only as good as the information they receive."

And Bermuda Police Service insisted yesterday that the closure of the station had not affected the Police presence in the town.

A spokesman said: "The Bermuda Police Service remains committed to policing the eastern parishes, including the entire parish of St. George's and the old town.

"Although Police personnel have operated out of the new state-of-the-art Southside Police Station since the closure of the old St. George's Police Station in January 2007, patrols and Police presence in the old town as well as the surrounding areas has been uninterrupted."

The spokesman added that there had been positive progress on several reported burglaries, including two men being charged with breaking into St. George's mini bus office in York Street last Thursday.

Mr. Burgess said there had been a delay in gaining planning permission for the $500,000 renovation of the station, due to the nature of the building, which had termites and cockroaches and was severely dilapidated when it closed.

"It's an old building and you just can't go down to St. George's and do what you like, you've got to preserve and fit into the old town," Mr. Burgess explained.

Town mayor Mariea Caisey welcomed the start of renovations on the Police station yesterday. She said: "That's great news. I am sure everyone in St. George's will be pleased. It will be our Christmas present."

Former mayor E. Michael Jones, a St. George's resident and chairman of the Bermuda Tourist Board, said it was more important to have officers on the beat 24 hours a day.

Mr. Jones said: "This is an excellent opportunity for the Government to assist the town in its policing. My real concern is not that the Police station will be open but that there should be sufficient officers policing the town. I believe two officers should be patrolling the streets in a three-shift period i.e. on a 24-hour basis.

"If there aren't any officers in the station then that money should be taken instead to have someone to answer the phone at Southside – I am afraid we could end up having a Police station and no officers."

He called on Government to put more officers on the beat. "Officers need to be patrolling the streets of St. George's on a regular basis and on foot so they are in touch with the community, rather than driving by in a patrol car every few hours," said Mr. Jones.

"That would help the residents of St. George's to be more comfortable, so Government needs to assist the Police Service to be about in the town."

The Police station became a hot topic in the run-up to last year's General Election with both parties pledging to make reopening it a priority if elected. In April, Mr. Burgess promised the station would reopen by September.

l Anyone with information about crime in St. George's should call the St. George's Criminal Investigation Unit at Southside Police Station on 293-2222.