The CEO of the security firm contracted to monitor offenders who are outfitted with electronic ankle bracelets said the company is willing to work with the government and police to improve the program. Stephen Greenslade, owner of ICS Security Concepts, said he made several recommendations to Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell to improve the system in January, however, many of these have not been implemented. He added that he is not averse to greater police involvement in the monitoring program but said police cannot tackle the work alone. His comments came after both Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage and Bell criticized the program. Last month, Nottage said the ankle bracelet monitoring system was not worth the money the government has invested in it. He has also said he wants the Royal Bahamas Police Force to take over the program.Greenslade said his company has thoroughly researched the ankle bracelet it uses, the manufacturing partner, the service behind the product and the support system. He added that his staff is well trained and vetted. "Without full understanding and clarification one would assume that there is some lack of value for service," Greenslade said. "We are working continuously to clear those lines as questions arise."If our client feels the need by any circumstances to renegotiate at the end of the term then we are willing to sit down at the table and renegotiate."Earlier this week, Bell said while he did not want to offend the company the government wants to renegotiate its contract.Bell said many of the homicides and other serious crimes allegedly committed by suspects being monitored could have been avoided if the police force had more direct involvement. He also said because the system is not perfect, suspects can "fall off the grid".However, Greenslade said ICS had mechanisms in place to detect when an offender is acting suspiciously. "I don't know how people can fall off the grid, but I'd be happy to discuss that with my client," he said. "There are technical circumstances where you may have a signal called insufficient trace and there is a protocol to address that."He said a signal would come into the center indicating if an offender is out of his zone, breaking curfew, has a device with a low battery or a fluctuating signal."All of those technical aspects are considered in the software," he said. "So when those signals come in the center responds to them and the police, who are the physical responders, they would go out and check the offender."Greenslade said 390 people are being actively monitored on the ankle bracelet system.He said monitoring an offender with an ankle bracelet saves the government a little more than half of the cost of housing an inmate on remand. In 2010, the Ingraham administration contracted I.C.S Security Concepts, a private firm, to manage and operate the program.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian