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He opened up by conceding that things are out of hand with a murder rate that is on pace to set a dismal new record.

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"I don't think we are going to hide behind what the statistical numbers are. Most recent information is as of the 15th of September the murder rate is up at about 22 more than year to date last year which means that we appear to be heading to all time high if we don't do something significantly to change the pattern."

Jules Vasquez, Reporting
And for Singh, that something begins and ends with recruiting the support of a wary public:

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"I think that the public morale is at a all time low with respect to what individuals feel that they can do in helping to assist the police and addressing the crime situation."

And that starts with the activation of a witness protection program that commences operation today:

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"The situation in Belize now is desperate. We have decided to put in place a witness protection program. There is a telephone number that we have assigned to a specific officer. That telephone number is a mobile number which means that that officer will respond anytime that number is called and be able to meet the witness and discuss the situation and evaluate the level of risk and make the appropriate steps, put the appropriate measures in place for the protection of the witness if it is necessary. That telephone number is 670-0026. It is actually immediately in effect. We have given out the number, so the number is a live number. The number is an active number and it has been assigned to an officer. He is somebody who is discreet, he is somebody who is professional and he is somebody who does not come with any kind of baggage. That person will have tremendous authority with respect to making the decisions, the recommendations and to make the arrangements for the witnesses to be protected."

And with that in place they made a pitch for persons to come forward to assist with the spate of weekend murders:

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"I understand that people have gotten to a position where snitching is a bad thing to do, sometimes for their personal safety, sometimes for the safety for other members of the family. But if this becomes the status quo, then we are not going to go anywhere."

Crispin Jeffries, Commissioner of police
"Jules, I think you heard the statement about the football team that keeps only the star players on the team all the time, it will never continue to win. We need those on the bench to come on board and the people on the bench are those witnesses to crime. The police are only the investigators, we need to step up."

Singh says the police is doing its part to regain public confidence by preparing to purge rogue officers:

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"We are moving strongly at identifying some of the officers within the department for removal within the next 30 days. I am not going to say who those people are, but we are looking at that, we are looking at this. It may not be a huge amount but we may not be able to convict these individuals but just in the effort of trying to move forward individuals will be removed from the department."

But more than bad cops, guns in the street are the problem:

Crispin Jeffries, Commissioner of police
"The problems we face in Belize are 4 major areas. Homicides, gangs, drugs but primarily guns. Guns over the last 4 years statistically has been on the increase in their use in crimes of homicide and robberies. When we look at our murders between 2002 and now, they have been very close to 670 murders of which more than 51% has occurred with guns. it is some frightening statistics. While these figures are random I can actually share these statistics with you Mr. Vasquez because I know these are the figures you like to play with and you refer to me as the statistical commissioner."

But Sunday's killing spree is more than just another statistic for the department - it is an event that has left society reeling:

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"This press conference today is o direct response to what happen over the weekend. We are not going to deny that and I think putting some of these things in place immediately is as a result of the immediate need to do so."

The new head of CIB - ASP Alden Dawson says that they do know why Eyannie Nunez was killed:

ASP Alden Dawson, Officer Commanding CIB
"We believe that the murder of Eyannie Nunez was caused over firearm that is being held by a family member of Eyannie Nunez and at this the information we receive is that he refused to hand over back that firearm which may have led to the shooting. We believe that the shooters believe at the time that that family member was home in that room. There is nothing to indicate that Eyannie Nunez was the intended target in that shooting."

Crispin Jeffries, Commissioner of Police
"The incident on Castle Street clearly some of our information is indication that it was a result of a fight that occurred earlier where somebody was hit in the head with a bottle. The incident as Mr. Dawson indicated on Zericote Street was because of a stolen firearm. Similar information exists in respect to one of the other cases and the third is yet for us to confirm the other information. But this is where our investigation is leading us."

Police say that no motive has been established in the other murders - but minister Singh accepts that it may have something to do with the 170 additional police officers on the street in Belize city.

Hon. Doug Singh - Minister of Police and Public Safety
"If you look at what happened over the last weekend. Most of the crimes that occurred increase surveillance may not have been able to prevent. These crimes were not related, they were scattered in different areas of the city and most of them were done I believe after 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. During a period when crime is generally the lowest. This is not accidental; we have changed our system of operation in eastern division where Assistant Commissioner of Police Aragon has started focusing on some of the hot areas. So we've increased policing in certain areas such as the George Street area and some other areas and it appears that we may have displaced some of these activities. Whenever from a policing standpoint we start focusing on the hot areas from a policing standpoint crime activities get displaced in other neighborhoods and that may have been a typical example of that. Look at the timing of those activities, they all happen in very early morning in most cases, right? We know that this was a possibility but the reality is we do not have the human and police resources to police everywhere with the level of man power that the public demands and expect all over the city at all hours of the day."

The deployment of the new fully trained recruit intake at the end of the month should help with that.

For clarity, up to September 15 2010 - there have been 93 murders, while up to September 15, 2009, there had been 71 an increase of 22 murders.

And while murder figures could reach a dismal new high, a number of new initiatives are coming on stream. They include moving the internal affairs department out of the police and into the ministry of national security - directly under the CEO with public sector oversight.

As regards the investigations into Sunday's murders, in the Eynnie Nunez murder, one persons has been detained and police are looking for one other person. In the murder of Everett Davis, 3 persons are being sought and a small red car has been impounded, in the case of MARLON ZELAYA, one suspect is being sought and in the case of Apolonio Hernandez investigators say progress in that case is slower than others.