A judge spoke out yesterday over violent offenders being granted early release from prison on parole, despite the lengthy sentences he’s meted out.Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said he found the situation “extraordinary” and suggested it is time for “reclaiming the power of the court”.Meanwhile, National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief told The Royal Gazette that police and the Parole Board are set to sign an agreement to ensure information is shared on whether prisoners could pose a threat if given early release.The judge made the remarks as he sentenced Jahmel Blakeney and Sanchey Grant to 30 years in prison each for a gang-related shooting. He ruled that each man must serve 15 years before he can be considered for release, despite defence lawyers objecting to that.He asked the lawyers if they understood that “given the recent reports of the manner in which the Parole Board carries out its function in gang-related shooting cases, that the court should perhaps bear those things in mind?”His reference was to a front page news story in The Royal Gazette on Friday in which we revealed that Cervio Cox, who was jailed for seven years last May for being an accomplice to a triple gang shooting, is already free.The 28-year-old, like most prisoners, was eligible to apply for release after serving just a third of his jail term, and after a year he’d spent in custody before his trial was taken into account.The Parole Board granted him early release based on reports from the Departments of Corrections and Court Services but without any input from Bermuda Police Service.This newspaper revealed in October that alleged Parkside leaders Jahkiel Samuels and Prince Edness were granted early release from prison without the Parole Board being told of their gang ties.Mr Justice Greaves remarked: “The two recent cases we saw reported in the paper were both cases in which I was the trial judge.”He said of Cox: “There it is that he’s released on his first application [to the Parole Board], before Christmas. It would appear, had I sentenced him to five years, he would have been released before last Christmas. Isn’t that extraordinary?”The judge continued: “Take the case of Antoine Anderson, a man I sentenced in 2005 to seven years imprisonment for the worst torture case ever seen in the history of Bermuda. He was released by the next Christmas, in time to greet me on the street and tell me: ‘You don’t remember me?’ Well, that’s enough to scare a judge out of his own skin. And that Christmas he killed a man [Aquil Richardson]; enough to get locked up for life before the next Christmas.”He added: “In this type of case, isn’t it proper that the court should reclaim its traditional and inherent power to demand that men sent to prison spend their time in prison rather than leave it to the executive branch to be releasing them?”When defence lawyer Charles Richardson complained that the judge appeared to be branding the Parole Board “incompetent”, the judge replied: “Courts make decisions and make pronouncements in their judgments. They say certain things that we must consider. So my statement is not a criticism of the board; it’s about reclaiming the power of the court. That’s what it’s about.”The judge, who originally hails from Barbados, added: “These men are getting home before me, and I didn’t even do anything wrong. They did, and they get home before me.”Mr Perinchief told this newspaper he believed there were “certain triggers” which prompted gang members to carry out shootings and that the release of a prisoner could be one such trigger.He suggested shootings which took place last weekend could be attributed to the early release of a particular convict, whom he would not name.“You can speculate. You can say the release of certain people into mainstream society can trigger a reaction from the gangs.“Dandy Town was shot up right after a fellow came out, then we had two more [shootings] following that. One on Cambridge Road [in Somerset] and on the back of that a shooting on Friday night, Saturday morning down at Border Lane [in Devonshire].“Two people on a bike, the pillion passenger firing at people. The police know who was fired at.”He added that an offender being discharged from prison “changes the dynamics of a gang”.Mr Perinchief said the recently introduced Operation Night Light, which keeps tabs on those on parole to prevent reoffending, should help the situation.And he said his Ministry had requested a memorandum of understanding be signed between the police and the Parole Board, to ensure police have input before offenders are released from prison.“We are working on it right now,” he said. “The legislation allowed for exchanges of information on a voluntary basis. We are now formalising that process.”