Bermuda had a per capita murder rate in 2009 more than five times that of London and higher than that of New York and the global average.

The three gun slayings which took place here in December — taking the total number of murders for 2009 to six — have propelled the Island up the international league table for violent deaths. Based on an estimated population of 65,000, the killings give Bermuda a murder rate for 2009 of 9.2 per 100,000 people — or about one murder for every 10,833 people.

A United Nations Survey of Crime Trends for 2003-2004 gave the Island a murder rate of just 1.1 per 100,000 population.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney told The Royal Gazette: "I think that the whole of Bermuda is shocked by the murders of 2009; it was a horrendous year for homicides."