The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage yesterday said that if left up to him, people accused of committing serious crimes would not be granted bail if their trial progresses in a “suitable period of time”. He added that people whose movements are being electronically monitored are “too dangerous to be put on the streets.”

Dr Nottage’s comments come on the heels of an incident where a man wearing an ankle monitor attempted to rob another man at gunpoint in Fox Hill.

This week, police also arrested two men in the parking lot at the Mall at Marathon after they put foil paper on their ankle bracelets to prevent authorities from pinpointing their locations. Dr Nottage’s statements echo comments made by Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, who this week said that many accused criminals have proven “too dangerous to be put back in the community.”

On Thursday, the manager of ICS Security Concepts, Gari Gonzalez, added that house arrest or mobility restriction should be mandatory for people being electronically monitored.

His company, which is responsible for monitoring offenders in the Electronic Monitoring Programme by the courts, said most of the people who commit criminal acts while wearing ankle bracelets do so by “exploiting the ability to roam free.”

When asked to comment on the issue this week, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson said making amendments to the Bail Act would not solve the problem.

She added that if changes are made to the legislation to limit bail grants, defendants still have the constitutional right to apply for bail if they are not tried in a reasonable period of time.