Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade said yesterday he is not surprised that the 2011 murder record was broken and warned that the murder count will continue to rise unless there are some legislative and policy changes.

"Those murder figures are up and they are up to the point where we are very, very disturbed and very, very concerned," Greenslade said at a press conference at Police Headquarters.

"I'll tell you, I'm not surprised. Despite our best intentions I foreshadowed this many months ago when I gave you an interview and I said if we do not change our trajectory, not the police department, but if we did not change generally, as a country, look at some policy issues, some legislative reform issues, we were going to continue to have problems. I said that publicly and I will say it again."

A man was shot and killed in Nassau Village yesterday morning, bringing the murder count to 134.

The murder count has increased by 31 percent compared to this same time last year and 20 percent compared to this time in 2011 when the country recorded the previous murder record. Up to this period last year, there were 104 murders. There were 110 murders during the same time in 2011. There were 127 murders in total that year.

Greenslade said while he does not want to use anyone as a scapegoat, the police are doing their jobs in the fight against crime. He maintained that a big part of the problem continues to be the ability for repeat offenders to get bail after being charged with serious crimes.

Greenslade has repeatedly called for tougher bail laws. He said police can arrest criminals "until they are blue in the face", but as long as they continue to get bail, the murders and other violent crimes will continue. He said just this week he arrested a young man, who was out on bail for a serious crime.

"My frustration that a young Bahamian man is able to commit an egregious crime in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and can thumb his nose at the system and say, 'so what, if you don't like it I'll do it again'... That's a problem that every police officer has."

He said the system is "fundamentally flawed".

"There are many things that have to be done to ensure that it stops but the one thing that we are certain about is that on the front end there is always going to be a swift and a sure, dedicated firm response from the Royal Bahamas Police Force," he said.

"This morning, I deployed a selective enforcement team made up of the finest officers we have. They have received the best training in heavy arms. They are heavily armed. Whatever weapons are out on the streets of New Providence, we've outmatched them... we are going to stay out there for as long as it takes.

"... Any well-meaning citizens of this country should stay out of the way of law enforcement and allow us to do our work, fairly, firmly and professionally."

Greenslade again called on residents to stop cloaking criminals.

"People who are committing nefarious acts in our country should find no shelter in our communities," he said. "I am asking you, I am begging you to give us your support."

Prime Minister Perry Christie said on Monday the police force will roll out new measures to fight crime in the coming weeks.

Asked about those measures yesterday, Greenslade said he does not want to preempt the prime minister.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian