The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said there is no “issue” in The Bahamas with electronic monitoring systems.

His comment, which came during a recent press conference, was made months after the Christie administration changed its electronic monitoring systems provider, awarding a new contract to Migrafill Electronic Security.

Details of that new contract have not been disclosed, and it’s unclear what makes the new provider different from the old one.

Previously, ICS Security Concepts had a multi-million dollar contract to provide electronic monitoring systems, but top government officials expressed concerns about the system’s quality under ICS.

In 2013, Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage said: “We clearly have not been completely satisfied with the system that does exist and so we are looking for ways to improve that.”

That same year, State Minister for National Security Keith Bell said the government was concerned over “fundamental issues” with electronic monitoring.

“The question one has to ask, is the government spending a substantial amount of money for this?” he said. “The fact of the matter is the government has invested in it and the responsibility is on ICS to ensure that there are no breaches; either you do it or you can’t.”

Commissioner Greenslade, nonetheless, dismissed concerns about the monitoring system as he praised both companies who have been awarded contracts within recent years.

“I’m not going to speak for the government but I’m going to speak because I was a part of the initial arrangements with the first company,” he said. “The company that dealt with the electronic monitoring in the first instance did an extremely good job, professional young man who was running a business employing Bahamians and in my view as commissioner did a good job.

“Whatever those nuances were over time that he contracted with the government is not for me to discuss. The company that now has the contract is again a prominent company in this country, decent people who are employing Bahamians and who mean all the good in the world. I just told you about two good businesses that exist and will continue to exist on the landscape of the country. Electronic monitoring is not a perfect system, irrespective of what system you purchase. None of them are fail-safe to the extent that if a person wants to defeat that bracelet they will.

“What I try to explain to people is this: let’s not get into the technical details of this and confuse ourselves. If someone appears before a court of law, whatever company you’re using and is told you are going to be remanded to prison, I’m not minded to give you bail; but there’s an option and if you take that option and you behave yourself within the parameters set by the courts you don’t have to go to prison, you can be at home and we can monitor you. Well, why get bent out of shape about whether you can cut it or take it off? If you cut it off, the moment you do you breach your bail conditions, we take you back to jail. What’s the news story? It’s not an issue. If you’re looking for an issue you’ll find it. I want us to be peacemakers in The Bahamas. I want businesses to survive. I don’t see any issue today in The Bahamas with electronic bracelets.”