The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net THE Government will save nearly half a million dollars a year with the introduction of live video link testimony, Attorney General John Delaney said yesterday. The new technology provides for remand hearings to take place by live television link, reducing the need for detainees on remand to be transported from the remand facility and to receive evidence of persons who are unable to be physically present at court proceedings. Mr Delaney revealed this information while announcing the successful completion of a live video link testimony of an out-of-state witness on Wednesday - the first in Bahamian legal history. The Attorney General said the court was able to receive live, via video link, the testimony of a witness in the Bahamas Consulate in Florida, while the trial took place in the Supreme Court in downtown Nassau. The testimony was used in a retrial of a person accused of murder. "The use of a live television link equals tremendous financial cost savings, whether avoiding the cost of having to transport remanded detainees or persons having to travel from an overseas location to the court. This results in saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. During the last fiscal year, my office spent over $200,000 for costs relating to transporting witnesses for trial. So far for the year, we have spent about $150,000," Mr Delaney said. "It also allows a vulnerable witness, who for reasons related to security concerns, young age, advanced age or other vulnerability, may be permitted to give evidence remotely from a place other than the courtroom. Evidence that may not otherwise be available, due to inability to travel." Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest said the new live video link testimony has allowed for remand hearings at Fox Hill Prison, which began two weeks ago. "On any given day more than 100 remanded inmates would have their remand hearing at the prison heard by either a magistrate sitting in the court at Fox Hill or by the three video links connected to the two courts at Nassau Street, in Freeport or in the Supreme Court. That has had a tremendous impact, while we will still have a daily transport instead of having over 100 persons go down everyday, we now have the numbers greatly reduced. Hence we have been able to reduce the number of personnel that has been associated with that cost," he said. "There is a magistrate that attends everyday. It is working, it is working extremely well and the police are also assigning a special unit to the magistrate's court complex to ensure things happen quickly." Mr Turnquest's comments came after road users criticised the government for the inconvenience associated with transporting prisoners to and from court. Earlier this month, a prison bus collided with a dump truck on the Eastern Road when it was on its way to court, causing a massive traffic jam. Two buses were extensively damaged and two prison guards were injured in the incident. Mr Turnquest said the Superintendent of the Prison and the Commissioner of Police have met and formulated a plan concerning the speed and the manner in which the convey transports prisoners to and from court.