National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage has expressed concern over the fact that police are finding people who are wearing ankle bracelets committing serious crimes.
“I would not give these kinds of people bail once I know their trial will be heard or come up in a timely fashion,” he said recently.
“People whose movements are being electronically monitored are too dangerous to be put on the streets.”
Just last week, police arrested three men in the parking lot at the Mall at Marathon. They were wearing ankle bracelets with foil paper covering them.
The men were also driving a vehicle with two different license plate numbers.
Following the incident, Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said some people are “simply too dangerous” to be placed on bail and allowed back into society.
On Thursday, Interim Manager of the ICS Security Monitoring Centre Gari Gonzalez said experience shows that most of the people who commit criminal acts or engage in high-risk behaviour do so by exploiting the ability to roam freely despite being outfitted with an electronic monitoring device.
“We believe that the courts should establish for each device-wearer a combination of inclusion zone, exclusion zone and curfew that must be strictly adhered to as a condition of receiving bail or probation,” she said at the time.
“With this requirement, the person being electronically monitored would be confined to their home parameters and restricted from entering specified areas. This would result in far greater compliance by those wearing the devices. As importantly, the police would be positioned to react quickly if someone violated the specified zones or curfew – thus preventing criminal behaviour from being pursued or acted on.”
The ankle monitoring centre has come under heavy fire in recent years after a number of people on bail wearing the tracking devices were found dead, committing crimes and even travelling outside of the country.
Last year 32-year-old Anthony Fox Rolle who was wearing an ankle bracelet turned up dead through a tract road near the South Beach canals inJuly.
Soon after, another man outfitted with an ICS ankle bracelet was found in Canada and another young man on bail was caught in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“As you may be aware, there are in excess of 400 offenders being monitored at this time, more than 90 per cent of whom remain compliant with their bail conditions,” Ms. Gonzalez said.
“Those who breach are reported to the police and their breaches are addressed in a satisfactory manner. Although there are offenders who are bent on challenging the law by way of their behaviour, we are encouraged by the efforts of our police force on a daily basis. We are therefore even more assured that this programme has become a key component of our overall crime management and crime prevention initiatives and also aiding in the relief of prison overcrowding here in The Bahamas.”
