A public safety expert in the United States said Antigua & Barbuda could benefit from Global Positioning System to monitor criminals, but said the country cannot go at it alone because of cost constraints.
Memphis City Council Chairman of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee Worth Morgan said the technology not only helps to pinpoint the location of violent offenders, but it would protect the victims and aid in enforcing court restraining orders.
“If somebody is a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, they can have a monitor. If they choose, they can keep it on them or at home and we will set up a protective buffer. If the perpetrator comes within that range, an alarm is set off, the police dispatched and the victim notified. We have made several arrests of people who have gotten out of jail or out on bond, but continue to stalk the victim,” he said.
Speaking to the US example, Morgan said $900,000 was spent last year to purchase 800 devices. He noted that the cost did not include the necessary infrastructure to operate the new devices.
“That is a major concern. I think one of the ways to keep it affordable for the islands is you do partners with third-party monitoring from wherever you bought the devices, so that when an alarm or alert goes off then they would be the first to see it. They have people 24/7 monitoring and when that happens they can contact the Antiguan authorities as quickly as possible,” he suggested.
More in today’s Daily Observer.