I.C.S. Security Concepts CEO and President Stephen Greenslade is defending his company's management of the government's ankle bracelet security program and said it would be less effective if taken over by the police force, a move Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage has recommended. Last week, Nottage told The Nassau Guardian he made an informal request to Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, asking the police force to take over the management of the program.

Nottage said police officers would be able to make better use of the intelligence gathered on defendants in the program. The national security minister lamented the fact that some suspects have broken out of the devices and committed crimes, and said the program has not lived up to expectations. But Stephen Greenslade said this was the first time he had heard those concerns and was very surprised. He said the government opted for a private company to manage and operate the program, a decision he called a "wise choice by all accounts".

When asked to respond to the criticisms of the program, Greenslade said, "The intelligent thing for me to do is to talk to (Nottage) first before I respond to his comments". However, he later said police already have full access to the systems that track offenders and defendants. He explained that I.C.S. installed monitors in the police control room and in selected police stations on New Providence and the Family Islands. "The police have access to it," Greenslade said.

"The administrator of the program is a police inspector. He directs the activities, the response and the interaction between the center and the offenders. "That is his responsibility. He makes reports and updates the police and the (National Security) ministry on the activities of the center. The police have control of it from the standpoint that [they can] get information from us to help them with investigations.

"The program is the government's own. We just do the monitoring and the managing of it because with this type of program you need the systems that are provided by a company like ours to make it consistently efficient and effective." Greenslade said his company is more than happy to take suggestions on what can be done to improve the application of the program, its systems and the working relationship between the center and the police. Last July, I.C.S. Security Concepts said five alleged criminals removed their ankle bracelets since the system was launched in late 2010.

Earlier in 2012, then Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest said more than 30 people who were being monitored used foil paper to deactivate the system. "The successes and failures are not unique to The Bahamas," Greenslade said in response. "I would love the opportunity to meet with the minister and discuss those points. "I remain absolutely confident in this program and the many benefits that can be derived from it in terms of crime prevention and crime management."

Nottage also wants magistrates to place greater restrictions on defendants who are outfitted with ankle bracelets to limit the areas they can travel, something Greenslade said his company has advocated from the inception of the program. He also suggested that more defendants are given curfews. Greenslade said magistrates have been ordering defendants to be monitored by the program in many more cases.

"We have taken initiatives to have information-based meetings with some of the magistrates through our manager to explain to them how restrictions can work and of course it's up to the discretion of the court to determine what restrictions to put in place, and who should be given those restrictions during the bail process." Greenslade said last week that he would seek to meet with Nottage, but it is unclear if that meeting has taken place.

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