Angry St. David's Islanders last night demanded a greater police presence in their community in the wake of last month's alleged double murder.

A public meeting at Clearwater Middle School revealed the level of shock and fear among residents following the deaths of Maxwell Brangman and Freddie Gilbert, whose bodies were found near the Black Horse Tavern.

More than 50 people, including Mr. Brangman's sister Lana Flood, attended and asked senior police officers why patrol cars were so rarely seen on the streets of St. David's.

"Never once have I seen a police car patrolling in St. David's," said one young woman. "How can we feel safe if you are not having a presence in St. David's?"

Acting Supt Nick Pedro replied: "I can assure you that patrollers do patrol St. David's. We patrol St. David's on a daily basis. I agree I'd like to see more officers on the streets."

Earlier, Acting Chief Insp Darrin Simons, commander at Southside, told the meeting that St. George's, which includes St. David's, had the fifth highest crime rate of the nine parishes.

He said the east end parish had better than average rates for burglary and public order offences and slightly worse than average rates for offences involving violence, theft and taking vehicles without consent.

The officer said he was aware of residents' concerns that the demographic of St. David's was changing due to former offenders living in Government-run transitional housing and that that was contributing to a higher crime rate.

"To say there has been a spike in crime would be incorrect," he said. "It's not the case. The numbers don't bear that out."

A woman said if people were concerned about crime it was because they had good reason. "We are fearful for what's being done to us," she said. "If I am downstairs and I go upstairs, I lock everything because I'm so scared.

"Don't try to make believe it's not happening in St. David's because it's happening."

Acting Chief Insp Simons said he appreciated that the fear was real and affected quality of life but that decisions on where to deploy officers had to be based on crime statistics.

One man in the audience said: "Obviously, we are very stressed in St. David's to some degree. We need some reassurance that this sort of behaviour, murders etc., is going to be addressed.

"There is a sense of fear in St. David's. I see my neighbours locking up doors and windows. Reassurance is getting in the community as police and addressing each person's concern."

Acting Supt Pedro insisted: "We are out there doing the work. We are out there getting results. We are out there but it's contingent on your support."

He added: "We are not living in a vacuum. We respond to information that's provided to us. I think we have got good results in recent times."

The officer said the alleged double murder, for which two men are facing trial, was shocking not just to residents but to police.

"Hopefully the legal process will bear out why and how this happened," he said. "That will hopefully be a process by which we can all learn how it happened and how we can prevent it in the future."

Public Safety Minister David Burch said people in St. David's should draw some comfort from the fact that two suspects had appeared before the courts within a matter of weeks.

"There is a certain rawness that exists in St. David's right now because of the recent incident," he said.

The meeting heard three patrol cars are assigned to the parishes of St. George's, Hamilton and Smith's each day and that they will be supplemented by six additional community action officers from December 20.