The new remand court at Fox Hill will save the justice system hundreds of thousands of dollars in transportation and manpower costs, government officials said yesterday.
The Ingraham administration had originally been opposed to the idea of a court near the prison, which was originally promised by the Christie administration.
Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest and Attorney General John Delaney yesterday unveiled the new remand court just next to Her Majesty’s Prisons (HMP).
The new court – built at a cost of $686,542.72 – will reduce the need to bus inmates in large numbers from the prison to court complexes in the center of town.
The new court also has three live video conference rooms which link the remand center to three courts by video: a Supreme Court, a court at the Nassau Street complex and a magistrate’s court in Grand Bahama.
For some time, the bus convoy, which transports prisoners from HMP to the courts, has been a source of frustration for motorists who have complained of the noisy and speeding buses.
“The establishment of this remand court in Fox Hill in close proximity to Her Majesty’s Prisons will eliminate the need for persons being held on remand to be transported downtown, except for trials,” Turnquest said at a press conference at the new court yesterday.
“Apart from the annoyance caused to communities as the convoy of prison escort and prison buses make their way to and from court, it has been costing the public purse significant sums and puts the safety of inmates, law enforcement and the general public at risk,” said Turnquest.
Last February, a prison bus and police escort vehicles crashed into each other on Bernard Road. Two prisoners and one guard were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A package of anti-crime bills passed by Parliament last year contained amendments to the Evidence Act to allow for live television conferencing from the courts.
Yesterday, the attorney general said the video conferencing link will save the government the expense of having to transport witnesses from the Family Islands or foreign jurisdictions to give testimony in person.
“When we need expert witnesses or any other witnesses (to give) evidence in a criminal trial, there’s no need now to bring them physically to the court in every instance,” Delaney said.
A magistrate will be physically present at the remand court, however three other hearings can happen simultaneously through live video feeds.
The $686,543 the government spent on the new court does not include labor costs because the court was built by 15 inmates.
The Ingraham administration spent $248,194 on eight video conferencing systems and $337,214 constructing a new road and fencing which was required to separate the court from the prison.
The national security minister said the government should recoup the money it spent on the new court later this year.
“The savings are going to be huge and the $636,000 we spent will be recouped in a matter of months,” Turnquest said.
The new court will cut down on transportation costs, money spent feeding inmates outside of the prison and payments to prison and police officers who guard the inmates during travel to and from HMP.
The prison compound now has extra fencing along its eastern perimeter since the remand court was constructed, meant to separate the two facilities and add extra security for the prison.
There are also three holding cells inside the new court.
The court, which is adjacent to the electronic monitoring tagging center, was expected to be completed last September.
