Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith yesterday called for extra officers to deal with "lawlessness" after gang violence erupted again at a public event.

Machete and baseball bat-wielding thugs were involved in massive disturbances at a concert on White Hill Field, Sandys, in the early hours of yesterday with Police also investigating reports of a gun being brandished.

And one of the performers may even face prosecution after he was caught on film performing "unhealthy activities" with young women and swearing over the microphone at the $50-a-ticket event, which attracted more than 1,500 people.

Police have set up a team of officers from the Serious Crimes Unit to investigate the disturbances, with footage of the incident from both ZBM and the Police Support Unit being studied, Commissioner Smith announced at a hastily-convened Press conference yesterday.

But it was his public admission that he had been in discussions with the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety over the need for increased staffing that showed how seriously Police were treating this latest chapter in the escalation of gang warfare on the Island.

"As a society, we have an expectation of entertainment," said Mr. Smith.

"And with that comes a need for policing these events. But what we are up against is having to police the Island from one end to the other, as well, at a critical time where public order offences are a problem.

"Public order requires a highly-specialised team and there is a limit to how much one can accomplish with multiple events taking place at multiple venues.

"As Police Commissioner, I have been quite concerned and disturbed by what I have seen. There is clearly an element of lawlessness which we need to deal with. We are dealing with a group of individuals who are determined to wreak destruction and injury to others."

Mr. Smith revealed he had been in discussions with the Ministry about staffing issues, a topic of debate that has arisen frequently on the Island in recent years, but he refused to say how talks had gone.

Aside from the staffing issues, Mr. Smith also called for a review of how concerts and similar public events controlled their security, expressing concern at how the trouble had broken out and whether there were adequate resources to deal with the 1,500 revellers. But he said he was also concerned about the nature of the performances at the reggae concert on Monday night, questioning: "What type of concert do we wish to see here?"

Mr. Smith said he had seen footage from the concert in which one of the performers was on his knees being groped "in the groin area" by young females in the audience.

He had also heard one of the performers swearing over the PA system and admitted that using foul language in public was an offence and that Police may put a case forward to the Department of Public Prosecutions in the future. Trouble began at the event at around 2 a.m. when a disturbance took place in front of the stage with Town and Country gangs thought to be at the centre of the brawl.

Groups began leaving the field, with a number of them carrying weapons, while bottles and bricks were also thrown during the incident.

A Police spokesman said that a man, believed to be from the Town gang, attempted to leave the scene in his car at high speed but crashed the vehicle. Although he jumped out of the vehicle and escaped, all the windows were smashed and the body of the car was damaged.

A man was also arrested after a woman needed to be hospitalised after receiving cuts and broken bones in her right foot after a large stone was allegedly dropped on her from a balcony in the area outside of White Hill.

The area was finally cleared around 3.30 a.m.

A large sum of cash was also reported stolen by organisers of the event. Police are appealing for anyone with information about the disturbance to contact them on 295-0011.