Suspects on bail could be tagged

MONDAY, NOV. 21: Defendants on bail could soon be electronically tagged, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Kim Wilson said today.

And tagging could also be extended to include convicted criminals on parole and probation, as well as people on police and Magistrates’ Court bail to cut down on the risk of re-offending.

Tagging legislation currently only applies to people on bail for firearms offences.

Ms Wilson said: “The potential benefits of this initiative are behaviour modification of offenders, intelligence-gathering and enhanced public safety.”

Ms Wilson said that electronic tagging – used extensively in the US and UK, as well as other jurisdictions – had been “under consideration for some time as a valuable tool to enhance public safety and offender rehabilitation.”

She added that cash to fund the scheme had been found from the seized profits of crime fund and that a contract with Bermuda Security Group to run a one-year tagging pilot had been signed last month.

Ms Wilson also signalled a move towards avoiding youngsters caught with small amounts of drugs from being saddled with a criminal record – which could have a major impact on their ability to study or travel abroad.

She said: “We need to look at people who fall foul of the law with respect to certain types of drugs. We are not condoning that type of behaviour – it’s a question of providing further guidance, other measures and other means with respect to these matters.”

She pointed out that police officers already have the option of dealing with some offences, like simple possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use, with a caution under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

Ms Wilson said: “We don’t want to create a regime where we’re criminalizing people going abroad for travel and education and the like.”