Wayne Caines last night met with dozens of the island’s religious leaders to discuss strategies to address the cause of violence in Bermuda.

During the meeting at the Heritage Worship Centre, Mr Caines, the Minister of National Security, said participants formed working groups to talk about what they could do to address the issues that cause gang violence and gun violence in both the short and long term.

Saying that many churches and religious communities are providing services aimed at addressing the core issues, through the meeting he hoped to create a registry of those services.

He said they were also hoping to find additional “safe places” for people to go on the island if needed.

“Right now there are a few safe places where people can go if they are in a situation where they don’t feel safe,” he said. “Right now there are four places, and we are trying to get some more.”