Today, Wednesday January 22nd, officers from Hampshire Constabulary became Special Constables for the Bermuda Police Service, enabling them to effectively investigate serious crimes onboard Bermuda registered vessels in Hampshire ports.

A total of 16 staff from the Hampshire Major Investigation Team – 14 detectives and two police staff investigators – were formally sworn in as Special Constables by Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service Michael DeSilva, at a ceremony also attended by Hampshire Chief Constable Andy Marsh and Hampshire Police & Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes.

Also present at the swearing-in ceremony held at Police Support & Training Headquarters at Netley were senior representatives from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as well as cruise operator Carnival UK.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been established between Hampshire Constabulary and the Bermuda Police Service to facilitate criminal investigations onboard visiting Bermuda registered vessels, in collaboration with the UK Home Office, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Government of Bermuda and Government House (Bermuda).

Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service Michael DeSilva said: “For us this is about partnering up with a UK force, which allows us to provide a more appropriate and faster response to ships that are registered in Bermuda.

“Through this partnership with Hampshire Constabulary, we can overcome the logistical delays caused by flying in from Bermuda – there are only five flights a week to the UK and so it can often take up to two days to get there.

“This MoU gives us more options and means that we may not have to deploy every time a crime is reported which requires investigation. Importantly for us, it also gives us a footing as a UK police force. The six Caribbean territories and Bermuda are all British territories, and while we are not a Home Office force, we are part of UK policing and it is very important for us to be part of this.”