State of Emergency update: 684 arrested

Police commissioner Dwayne Gibbs told reporters Saturday in the period between Friday morning and Saturday morning the protective forces arrested another 222 persons under the provisions of the state of emergency.

The total number of detainees since last Sunday's declaration of the emergency now stands at 684.

Seventy seven of the new detainees are connected to gangs, Gibbs said in his daily briefing for the media. He said six of the persons detained are wanted in connection with murders, 37 are for drug offences and the others are for other serious offences, including outstanding warrants.

The Attorney General told the media the state of emergency is working and illustrated his point by referring to the reduced cases at the country's hospitals.

"The casualty departments that used to be clogged with stabbing victims, road accident victims," he said. "The doctors and nurses are breathing sighs of relief and reporting that for once, they are having some peace and quiet."