The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Clayton Fernander wants more people accused of serious crimes to follow the example of Anthon Munroe, a murder suspect who asked a judge last week to cancel his bail because he felt unsafe.

Munroe had been on bail for over a year, awaiting trial for the September 15, 2020, killing of Shermalle Ferguson, Jr, on First Street in Coconut Grove.

Munroe reportedly told Supreme Justice Renae Mckay last week that someone shot at him outside his house days earlier, and he was afraid for his safety.

He made an emergency application for the court to revoke his $30,000 bail and remand him into custody, believing this would be safer for him and his family.

 Many people get bail because a significant backlog of cases leads to delays in the start and completion of their trial.

 People on bail for serious crimes comprise a significant number of people killed in The Bahamas.

 Human rights advocates say keeping them in custody indefinitely is not a suitable solution to the problem, especially given the poor conditions of the prison.

 The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, after a recent visit to the country, highlighted the number of people killed on bail and called on the government to improve its technical capacity to keep them safe.

 Highlighting Munroe’s case, Commissioner Fernander told reporters in Grand Bahama yesterday: “He is now afraid and went back to the court and said, judge, please remand me, I don’t want my bail, cancel my bail, and other individuals should do just that. Say, I don’t want no bail. I want to live a little longer. Revoke my bail and put me back behind bars. And he did the right thing, and we want to encourage others to do just that because we see the trend, and we have to fix it.”

 Commissioner Fernander also said he is concerned about people on bail for murder travelling to Family Islands and committing crimes while wearing ankle monitoring devices.

 On Monday, four New Providence men were charged in Freeport with several shop-breaking and stealing incidents. The men are on bail for murder and were all being monitored at the time. One of the men pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison.

Commissioner Fernander said the incident is “a big problem”.

“Yes, we have seen a trend with respect to that on the various Family Islands, individuals that are moving from the big city into the Family Islands and committing crime,” he said.

“You can’t leave the jurisdiction and how they end up all the way here in Grand Bahama?”

The commissioner noted recent media reports highlighting disagreements about the quality of work of Metro Security Solution, the company providing ankle monitoring services.

Carlos Reid, a Ministry of National Security consultant, told The Tribune the company is not doing an effective job. Orion Bethell, the company’s president, countered that police don’t always respond to notifications about people breaking bail conditions.

Commissioner Fernander acknowledged the discourse and said yesterday that the monitoring company should pick up on people who leave where they are mandated to stay and notify police. 

“That is something that should have been picked up if they are leaving the jurisdiction and the police notified so that we could move in and put them back before the court,” he said.

“But that is something we are addressing. It is a big problem with individuals who continue to commit crime who are out there being monitored. They let their battery go dead and commit crime and then come back on the grid.”