The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE manufacturing of vehicle licence plates by inmates at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services officially began last month, Minister of Transport and Local Government Frankie Campbell said yesterday.

Mr Campbell, during his contribution to the budget debate, said he has been informed that the initiative began on May 29 with the production of "duplicate plates," and that all of the relevant licence plate equipment, computer hardware and software have already been installed and are fully operational.

Public service licence plates are also currently being manufactured, Mr Campbell said. He added that the training of managers and inmates was completed before the system's launch.

The estimated total amount to pay 20 inmates to produce the plates is $124,800. It has not been specified if that figure represents how much it would cost to pay those inmates per annum, however, if broken down to represent individual salaries, the 20 inmates would receive $6,240 each.

The total cost of the equipment, software and hardware for the licence plate system is $750,000, Mr Campbell said, while the annual maintenance of the system will cost $75,000. Additional costs not yet factored into the production of the plates are $350,000, he said.

In March, Mr Campbell's predecessor, former Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna Martin, said the manufacturing of licence plates by inmates would begin by the first week in May.

At the time, she said several persons at the Fox Hill Road facility had already been identified as suitable candidates to participate and be paid for participating in the programme, with 15 to 20 inmates expected to take part in the operation in its initial stages.

At the time, Mrs Hanna Martin said the Fox Hill Road compound did not yet have all of the necessary equipment to start the manufacturing process. As a result, she said US company John R Wald Inc, which has 92 years experience in the business, was to continue producing plates on a temporary basis until such time as the BDCS could manage full production of the plates.

It is unclear whether the company is still producing plates on a temporary basis for the government. However, Mr Campbell did say that the company was selected to provide the software and equipment for the new licence plate plant.

"This joint venture between the Ministry of National Security via the Bahamas Department of Corrections, the Road Traffic Department and the Ministry of Finance, is part of the rehabilitation process of inmates and is a good example of cross ministries cooperating," Mr Campbell said. "It is also aimed at eliminating the deficiencies that exist in the previous systems of licence plate production while providing an income source for inmates in their rehabilitation process pre their return as productive citizens of society. This effort also provides the department with the opportunity to create a new registry of vehicles traversing our streets."

Mr Campbell also announced that licence plates for up to June are presently available at the Road Traffic Department, and that he has asked his "colleague," presumably National Security Minister Marvin Dames, to ask "law enforcement officers, particularly the police, to address those vehicles that are driving around without licence plates."

"The plates are here, officers listening to me, go ahead and issue the necessary tickets," he said. "There are no excuses for persons to be driving around without plates.

"I'm also advised that if there is an instance in the future where there are no new plates available, that persons are asked to continue with the existing plates on their vehicle, with a receipt showing that they have paid for the new sets of plates to show to law enforcement officers who may stop them.

"So from this point on, there should be no reason for anyone driving throughout The Bahamas without licence plates."

The decision to allow inmates to manufacture vehicle licence plates, similar to the US prison system, is a key element of the government's strategy to equip inmates with marketable skills during their sentences, thus improving their prospects for obtaining a job or starting their own businesses when they are released back into society.