Sgt Carl Mason fits an electronic tag onto Governor Boyd McCleary

Photo Credit: Governor's blog

Sgt Carl Mason fits an electronic tag onto Governor Boyd McCleary

Photo Credit: Governor's blog

The BVI could implement electronic tagging as an alternative form of sentencing before the end of the year, once approval is granted by local officials, says Governor Boyd McCleary who recently agreed to be tagged and monitored for a week.

Governor McCleary told BVI Platinum News that electronic tags were used in the BVI as a pilot, noting that it has been introduced successfully in Cayman. The Governor said that the technology the BVI will use is similar to the type currently being used in Cayman.

"We are hoping to move from a pilot to a full implementation within the next few months. We have set up a group called the Criminal Justice Advisory Group and the findings from the pilot will be reported back to that group in the next couple of weeks," the Governor stated.

The Governor, who has responsibility for security, said that once the report is submitted it will then be taken to the National Security Council and Cabinet to get their endorsement for the introduction of tagging in the BVI on a substantial basis.

Last month, the Governor blogged about his experience after he agreed to be electronically tagged for a week. In the blog entry, the Governor stated that being a guinea pig was interesting because it gave him a real sense of what it is like to wear a tag.

He observed that the system worked since the control room could check exactly where he was at any point in time and could tell if he had entered a restricted zone.

Additionally, the Governor said that the control room could also tell if he had allowed the battery to run down or had cut the band with which the tag was attached to his ankle.

Governor McCleary described the tag as reasonably comfortable and not too much of an intrusion.

"After my week under surveillance, I was glad to be able to cut the band and free myself from the monitoring. But my sense was that tags could be a real aid in helping us to cut the prison population and offer a better/more cost-effective way of dealing with some offenders. And, looking at it from the perspective of a young offender, whose alternative is prison, there is no doubt in my mind that the tag is a more acceptable option," the Governor stated.

Noting the importance of electronic tagging, the Governor pointed out that the prison was built for 60 inmates and now has to cater for well over a hundred.

The electronic tag which was worn by the Governor for a week.

Photo Credit: Governor's blog

The electronic tag which was worn by the Governor for a week.

Photo Credit: Governor's blog

"Cells designed for one prisoner now house two. BVI has the eighth highest prison population in the world (on a per capita basis). So we have to find ways to reduce it. We can do this by preventing people from offending in the first place; when they do offend, identifying alternatives to custody such as community service or curfew and getting them out of prison before they have completed their term, provided of course we assess the risk of re-offending as manageable," the Governor blogged.

He added that electronic tags can potentially help to take this agenda forward.

Governor McCleary said that the device could be be used for a young person who has committed his first offence, if it is thought that he would be better off not going to prison, where he might be "contaminated" by other, more hardened criminals.

The tag, he said, could be used in conjunction with a curfew order, which imposes conditions such as a ban on going out after a certain hour, or to a certain location.

"We could also use tags as a condition of early release from prison, allowing us to let out low-risk offenders earlier than might otherwise be the case. Again, conditions could be attached, requiring the person released not to enter a particular area. So, if we had someone who was in prison for a domestic violence offence, a condition of release could be that they could not enter the house of their estranged partner," the Governor pointed out.