The Ministry of Justice is to install video conferencing technology throughout Bermuda's courts and prison system to provide "virtual visitation for inmates".

Attorney General and Minister for Justice Senator Kim Wilson announced the initiative as part of an overall money-saving strategy for her Ministry during Friday's Budget.

The move, intended to cut down on transport costs for both criminals and witnesses, will bring Bermuda in line with the UK, where video link-ups between defendants in custody and courtrooms have been in operation for about five years.

Senator Wilson will be changing the legislation to allow Westgate inmates on remand to make court appearances via a video screen, rather than transporting criminals to Hamilton for every hearing, which she described as dangerous and costly.

The families of inmates will also be able to "visit" their loved ones via video link, while expert and vulnerable witnesses from both here and abroad will be able to testify over a live connection.

Sen. Wilson described the initiative as being "still at the Request for Proposal stage", adding that she intends to look both in locally and overseas for a company to install the video conferencing system in Bermuda's courts and inside the Westgate Correctional Facility.

The installation of video conferencing will be paid out of the Ministry of Justice's 2009/2010 Budget of $24.4 million which amounts to $453,000 less than the overall amount allocated last year.

Only the Department of Public Prosecutions, responsible for prosecuting all criminal cases in Bermuda, will receive slightly more, with an additional $344,000 going partly towards the development of a Witness Care Unit.

While the majority of the Ministry's Departments, including the Legislature, will receive less than they did from 2008/2009, one major spend stands out: more than $2 million to the quango charged with rooting out fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing in Bermuda.

Sen. Wilson explained that Government was able to finance a $2.35 million grant to the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) despite an overall dip in the Ministry of Justice budget thanks to money from the Confiscated Assets Fund, which is also paying out $593,000 to the National Anti-Money Laundering Office.

The Confiscated Assets Fund is comprised of proceeds awarded to Bermuda following legal victories, including the winding-up of the IPOC companies.

Sen. Wilson agreed that a worldwide spate of white collar crime like the alleged multi-billion dollar Madoff fraud was "part and parcel" of the Government's decision to give a $2 million grant to the FIA.

However, she added that the body's main purpose was compliance to international standards, with the money allocated to the FIA intended to be spent on "operating procedures".

The FIA has been charged with collecting Suspicious Activity Reports, or SARs, and reporting any suspect financial dealings to the police service's Fraud Unit. "The FIA is a totally independent body," she said. "The only thing they get from the Government is financing."