All three mayoral candidates for tomorrow's Corporation of Hamilton election have expressed their outrage at the triple shooting at the Swinging Doors nightclub, and called for increased Police patrols in the city.

Labour Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Randolph Horton has said that a CCTV camera scheme originally slated for early this year would be up and running by the summer and Police numbers in Court Street area have been boosted lately.

However, current mayor Lawson Mapp lamented the fact that Police resources do not stretch to dedicated beat officers for the area, especially as there are plans in the pipeline to encourage more tourists to visit this part of town.

"What's important is that we've got the safety and security," he said.

Election candidate Jay Bluck said: "I'm very sure that if we had Police on the streets, people who are considering anti-social behaviour would think twice about it."

Fellow candidate Sonia Grant said constituents had called her to express their shock at the shootings.

"We need to have Police visibility," she said. "The feeling from the top is that the Policeman on the beat is pass? needs but it's a deterrent."

Meanwhile, Michelle Khaldun General Manager of the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation (BSBDC), said the shootings would make it more difficult to revitalise Court Street.

But she said this will only make businesses and community groups more determined to rid this area of North Hamilton of the criminal element.

"I think the shootings on Court Street makes it more difficult for businesses in the Empowerment Zone," Ms Khaldun said. North East Hamilton has been selected by Finance Minister Paula Cox to be the first Economic Empowerment Zone as part of an initiative to revitalise the City of Hamilton.

The Economic Empowerment Zone was created in collaboration with property and business owners, the Uptown Market Association, the Corporation of Hamilton, the Chamber of Commerce, the Bermuda Industrial Union.

"Given that community focus groups had already indicated that the safety factor and the elimination of drugs was a priority concern, several action strategies had been devised," she said.

"I anticipate that this event makes the business persons even more determined to address this challenge with various strategies, i.e. requesting more police presence via Community Beat Officers, working closely with the Corporation of Hamilton and implementation and use of CCTV cameras."

She said organisations such as BAN and Focus will also play a key part in this community wide effort to address the issue of safety and security

"While not speaking for the Uptown Market Association, the unsafe area is a very small part of Court Street which colours the perception of the entire street unfairly."

Ms Khaldun said the top half of Court Street is fairly vibrant, so incidents like the shooting detract from positive developments taking place.

Although she said a more visible Police presence on this section of Court Street would help to deter the criminal element, Ms Khaldun feels all sections of the community and stakeholders must use pool their resources together if the revitalisation of Court Street is to become a reality.