The new head of the serious crime squad has vowed to crack Bermuda's unsolved murders – and will bring in UK professionals to help.

Detective Chief Inspector Antoine Daniels says his team is already working on strong leads in cases including Shaki Crockwell, Shaundae Jones and Jason Lightbourne.

And he revealed: "Right now, I can say we have some really positive leads in the Shaundae Jones murder. Some time soon we hope to have some positive news for the Bermuda public – people before the courts"

He also hopes specialists coming to Bermuda on secondment from a British Police force will boost these efforts, and finally bring the murderers to justice.

They will look at all Bermuda's unsolved cases - seven of them since 1975, of which the most recent are of Glen Wolffe, Shaundae Jones, Jason Lightbourne, Marcus Gibbings and Shaki Crockwel

Speaking ahead of the five-year anniversary of Jones shooting - which has prompted an emotional appeal today from the victim's mother - DCI Daniels said:"We want to reassure Marsha Jones and the parents and friends and families of all the other unsolved cases that we're going to go all out to get the perpetrators in these cases. We're not going to sit back and wait for the information to come to us.

"He explained:"Any unsolved case is open. We don't close any until we resolve them, unless the perpetrator dies.

"Of his fresh mandate to resolve these crimes, he said:"We're going in a different direction now, focusing on more quality focused investigations. Before, they would focus on how many men were investigating the case and how many statements were taken, but quality is not to do with quantity and that's the big focus. That's my thing - I'm pinpointing the best men for the job."

They will be joined by professionals from the British Police - he would not say how many or from which force - this summer.

"They'll assist the investigators and maybe revive some of the unsolved cases, maybe point us in the right direction. Sometimes when you're investigating cases yourself you don't see what a fresh eye can see," he noted.

DCI Daniels hopes the fact that people are currently before the courts charged over Bermuda's two most recent murders - Aquil Richardson, 30, shot on Boxing Day, and Matthew Clarke, 31, found dead in his Pembroke home earlier this month - will build public confidence in the Police.

Although detectives have complained that silence within the community has hampered their investigations, DCI Daniels said that's not always the case.

"We have some witnesses who've been quite helpful in understanding the current culture and current climate, people caught up in certain associations, the gang trade, don't want to come forward and be a snitch. They remain silent, but I have had help from the public. Not all people are reluctant," he said.

News of the fresh approach was welcomed by parents of three murder victims.

From his home in Trinidad, Marcus Gibbings' father Richard Gibbings said:"We are impressed by the signals being sent by Mr. Daniels and are very happy to know that the case of my son's murder remains open as far as the police are concerned.

"This brings us new hope and joins with our own resolve to bring closure to the circumstances of his death through the criminal justice system. We have never considered this case to be closed and we are glad that Mr. Daniels feels the same way too.

"Marsha Jones said: "I think it's fantastic. I know the case is ongoing because there's no statute of limitations for murder, but at the same time I wondered how active it really was. It makes me feel encouraged that they're really going the extra mile and getting others in to take another look at it.

"Danny Crockwell, father of national footballer Shaki Crockwell who was shot dead on the Railway Trail in Devonshire last year, said of DCIDaniels:"We said we'd put our trust in him, but right now it's very tiresome.I told them (the Police) a long time ago to bring in Scotland Yard and bring in a lie detector.

"His fiancee Tina Crane, who helped raise Shaki from the age of eight added:"Personally he's doing a great thing by getting advice from someone more professional in doing that type of work - unsolved murder cases."