Eight people were arrested on suspicion of looting on Wednesday after Hurricane Maria, Governor Gus Jaspert said.
The announcement followed Mr. Jaspert’s pre-storm promise to keep order in the wake of the storm and prevent the widespread looting and other crime that followed Hurricane Irma.
“I want to assure you that law and order will be maintained,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “Additional police and security forces were pre-deployed and are out in force.”
Some 500 officers here from outside the territory include United Kingdom Marines and police from the UK and the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Jaspert added that authorities are taking a “zero tolerance approach” to crime, and police will protect the public and property across the territory.
Police Commissioner Michael Matthews, who has been given regular security updates, said recently that only seven of the prisoners who escaped Her Majesty’s Prison around the time of Irma remain at large. None of them are believed to be dangerous, he added.
{fcomment}