The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government has cancelled its electronic monitoring contract with Metro Security Solutions and selected Migrafill Electronic Security, the previous provider of the service, to take over monitoring persons on bail.

The Ministry of National Security sent Metro Security Solutions a show-cause letter in February, demanding it explain and remedy problems within 30 days associated with its performance.

Ultimately, the Royal Bahamas Police Force pushed for a change, according to National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, who told The Tribune: “They ought to have received 30-day notice of termination by now. Last week, the meeting was supposed to take place. The terms of the contract permit it to be terminated on either party giving a 30-day notice.”

 Mr Munroe said a request for a new service provider was “put in the portal a week or so ago” and has since been closed.

 “The police had indicated that they prefer somebody who has done it before for obvious reasons,” he said. “I think I saw ICS saying that they weren’t interested, and I know Migrafill responded to the offer in the portal.”

“The police have been advocating for them because police say it’s a superior device and it permits them to communicate with the citizen as well through the device itself.”

 The last PLP administration awarded Migrafill the electronic monitoring service in 2016, taking the business from ICS Security Concepts.

 Mr Munroe said it is counterproductive to national security interests to say too much publicly about the ankle monitoring system.

“I think I saw a press conference with Greenslade from ICS. I agree with him that there should not be extended discussion about these things publicly for the obvious reason that some deficiencies are inherent in any piece of machinery, and to highlight things like it publicly informs persons who may have bad intent of things they might not otherwise know about, things they may not have otherwise thought about, so we’d just like to be measured in what we say,” he said.

 “It is unwise to have extended conversations over these things.”

 As the murder rate soared in late December and January, attention centred on the frequency with which people accused of serious crimes get bail and the ease with which some broke their bail conditions.

 Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said some people removed their bracelets easily with just a paper clip.

 Last year, Orin Bethel, president of Metro Security Solution, told this newspaper police sometimes failed to respond to the company’s SMS messages about people breaching their bail, citing the example of George Seymour, who was killed in August.

 “I remember the names because these are people who could have been alive if somebody could care enough to go do something,” he said. “We had sent a report to the police on August 17 to say that George Seymour was breaking curfew. They did not take action. Three days later, he was killed at Charms nightclub, breaking curfew again.”