The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER consultant in the Ministry of National Security has criticised the government’s decision to award Migrafill Security International the contract to electronically monitor people on bail without inviting other companies to bid.

Carlton Butler, president of Global Effective Tracking Solutions, said he had filed a formal complaint against the contract award with Carl Oliver, the acting procurement chief and Tax Appeal Commission president, but the government has failed to respond.

Mr Butler once served as the programme administrator for Washington, DC’s Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency’s (CSOSA) GPS programme, responsible for tracking over 3,000 high-risk offenders under a federal parole and probation system.

He also provided training on electronic monitoring to police officers across numerous law enforcement agencies in the Washington metropolitan area.

Mr Butler, a 39-year veteran in law enforcement and electronic monitoring, was hired by former National Security Minister, the late Dr Bernard Nottage, during the last Christie administration to audit, reform, and improve the electronic monitoring programme (EMP) amid deficiencies at the time with tracking offenders.

“We would have been able to provide what we believe to be the services required by an RFP: issue free electronic monitoring programme services,” he told The Tribune.

He added that during his previous Ministry of National Security consultancy, he found that local electronic monitoring devices often failed to issue real-time alerts when offenders violated curfew, removed their devices, or entered restricted areas.

“One of the things in the trade is, if you see regular charging habits, then you know the offender is up to something,” he said, adding that he found that some offenders were deliberately letting their device batteries die to evade tracking.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said last year that the government cancelled its electronic monitoring contract with Metro Security Solutions and selected Migrafill Electronic Security, the previous provider of the service after police officials lost confidence in Metro.

Mr Munroe defended the decision to award the contract to Magrifill, adding the ministry’s records did not disclose concerns over the company’s capabilities.

He said given issues with Metro Security Solutions, a newcomer that had bid well but was later said to perform poorly, the government opted against engaging an unfamiliar entity.

He said ICS Security Concepts, the only other previous provider, had already declined to take on the contract again, leaving Magrifill as the only viable option.