By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

A MAN on bail wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet was discovered in Canada.

Police have not released any details about the incident but The Tribune understands no one knew the accused was out of the country until Tuesday.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson said he was just recently informed of the infraction, but did not know exactly what happened.

Calls to ICS Security Concepts, the company in charge of the electronic monitoring system, as well as a call to the Minister of National Security were not returned up to press time.

The Tribune also understands this latest breech has prompted the government not to renew their contract with ICS Security when it expires in November.

Last month, Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell said the government intends to review the electronic monitoring system and its management company over an “unacceptable” number of breaches.

While the company has maintained it is effectively monitoring over 300 ankle bracelets, both Mr Bell and Prime Minister Perry Christie expressed doubts over whether the contract with ICS Security Concepts will be renewed later this year.

Speculation over the monitoring system’s efficacy was heightened following the discovery of a badly decomposed body of a man wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet in bushes off an isolated track road on the north-side of the South Beach canal.

However, Mr Bell said the government had expressed concerns over “fundamental issues” with the use of electronic monitoring before they took office last year.

“The question one has to ask,” he said, “is the government spending a substantial amount of money for this? We know that in excess of 400 persons are on the system, we know for a fact that as part of the contract even if a person is on the system and rearrested the government is being continuously billed for the bracelet even if they are in the system.

He added: “The fact of the matter is the government has invested in it and the responsibility on (ICS) is to ensure that there are no breaches, either you do it or you can’t. This is not the first, definitely not the second, we’ve had a number of persons who were either found murdered on the ankle bracelet system, or they were targeted, or they actually went out there and committed more crimes.”

The contract with the security firm will expire November 1.