LAW & ORDER: Making Bermuda Safe Again

A government’s first responsibility is to ensure the safety of its citizens. To that end, our elected leaders must send the strongest possible message to people who commit crimes that they will be caught, prosecuted and punished. And the law-abiding majority needs to believe they can live their lives free from fear, knowing that the criminal justice system works for them, not criminals.

To better protect the public, the next United Bermuda Party government will introduce legislation to ensure that repeat criminal offenders, who represent a serious threat to society, are sentenced to long periods of incarceration. A new Victim’s Charter of Rights will ensure that victims of crime receive the attention and support they deserve.

The next United Bermuda Party government will create an environment where our citizens believe the Bermuda Police Service will protect them from crime, drugs, criminal gangs and anti-social behaviour.

We will expedite urgently needed reform of Bermuda’s criminal-justice system. These reforms will include the Bermuda Police Service, Her Majesty’s Customs, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Department of Public Prosecutions, Corrections and the judicial system.

Our goals are clear:

• Better detection of crime.
• Effective prosecution of criminals.
• o Enhanced rehabilitation to reduce re-offending.

Finally, we must build confidence in and support for the men and women of the Bermuda Police Service. We will give our police and prosecutors the manpower, tools and financial resources they need to make Bermuda safe again.

Better Prevention and Detection of Crime

The United Bermuda Party will enhance detection of crime and develop a more responsive and accountable police service. We will:

• Work with the Police Service to establish national policing priorities to ensure the public’s concerns about crime, drugs, disorder and traffic are dealt with.
• Establish performance indicators to measure and improve police performance.
• Commit to a visible police presence on the streets of Hamilton and in every parish, daytime and nighttime.
• Increase the police presence in neighbourhoods by restoring the community beat officer programme with a full complement of officers.
• Open a Police station in Warwick.
• Renovate and re-open the Police station in St. George.
• Reduce the time it takes police to respond to reports from members of the public.
• Equip every Police patrol vehicle with GPS-based computer aided dispatching system to ensure rapid response of nearest available units to scenes of crime and traffic accidents.
• Undertake an immediate review of the police service manpower levels.
• Introduce legislation requiring the collection of DNA from persons convicted of a crime.
• Ensure the Police Service is equipped with the latest crimemapping, intelligence reporting and analysis software.
• Expand the CCTV camera network and improve the monitoring of the cameras.
• Introduce speed cameras on our roads.
• Improve the quality of training that police officers receive.
• Improve the quality of police buildings.
• Reinstate the very successful police consultative community groups and increase support for Crime Stoppers, crime prevention and neighbourhood watch programmes.
• Establish an independent body to investigate all allegations of corruption or criminal misdeeds by police, customs or prison officers.

More Effective Prosecution of Crime

The United Bermuda Party calls for more effective prosecution of crime to make Bermuda safer. We believe reforms are needed in the criminal justice system to improve rates of conviction, ensure that the punishment fits the crime, provide greater protection for witnesses and offer better support for victims. We will:

• Conduct a skills audit of the Department of Public Prosecutions to ensure that only highly skilled and experienced staff is in place to prosecute effectively all criminal cases.
• Legislate an increase in the minimum time that must be served when a person is convicted of murder or manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Legislate statutory periods of preventive detention for persistent, repeat offenders where rehabilitation has failed.
• Remove the rule against double jeopardy in cases of serious crime, when clear and compelling evidence is available.
• Introduce legislation to ensure better protection of witnesses.
• Establish a Victim’s Charter of Rights to improve support for victims.
• Reform and modernize the 1907 Criminal Code.
• Enact modern domestic violence legislation that will ensure more effective coordination among the police, social services and the criminal justice system to protect women and children.
• Introduce anti-social behavior orders to diminish the destabilizing effect young people can have on neighbourhoods when they engage in anti-social behavior.
• Increase the penalties for the possession of hard drugs.
• Introduce Three Strikes You’re Out sentencing policy for trafficking of hard drugs.
• Introduce Three Strikes You’re Out sentencing for the most serious crimes.