The Opposition has called for answers over a pilot scheme allowing the electronic monitoring of offenders on bail.The One Bermuda Alliance raised concerns after Attorney General Michael Scott announced on Monday that the scheme will start up within a month.They called for answers over the costs of the project and whether the reliability of the technology has been tested.The pilot project will involve around 20 to 25 “medium to low risk” criminals being fitted with ankle tags while they are on bail. This will allow the authorities to monitor their movements using Internet, cellular and GPS technology, according to Mr Scott.An alert will be sent out if the person goes anywhere they are not supposed to be.Wayne Edwards, chief operating officer at Bermuda Security Group [BSG], the company contracted to run the pilot, said on Monday: “The programme is a well-tested and cost-saving alternative to incarceration.”Mr Scott was unable to specify the price of the contract, which was signed with BSG earlier this month, when asked at the press conference.Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP Mark Pettingill raised concerns in the House of Assembly last December over the proposed pilot scheme. He said it was long overdue, and claimed another company demonstrated the product for free but Government did not get back in touch with them.“This makes me really concerned about the tendering process,” he said at the time.Asked if the tendering process was full and fair on Monday, Mr Scott replied: “Yes, the tendering process was carried out in a transparent way and the contracted party qualified.”However, Shadow Minister of National Security Michael Dunkley raised further concerns yesterday.“I have a number of questions based on the fact that in April 2010 the then Minister (Kim Wilson) wore a device surrounded by a good deal of media attention. Later, in August 2010, Minister Wilson said a contract would be signed in a month and now in October 2011 we learn more,” he said.“Why has it taken so long to progress this initiative and why is this a one-year pilot? Is the Government aware of any issues with the device they have contracted to use and have tests been done with the equipment before entering into this pilot agreement?”He explained: “Our research has shown that in other jurisdictions, they’ve had issues, particularly with the ones where they rely on cell phone frequency. Everyone with a cell phone in Bermuda knows we get dropped calls on a regular basis.”Sen Dunkley inquired whether the tags used in the pilot are the same ones Sen Wilson unveiled to the public and wore herself to demonstrate their efficiency. He would also like to know the terms and cost of the one year pilot contract, whether it was tendered and who responded to the tender.“Why was the Bermuda Security Group chosen over other tenders?” he asked. “We are aware there are other groups that put a tender in for this contract and on the face of it we don’t accept the Minister’s comment that it was done in the correct way.”He declined to elaborate further on that point of concern.However, he added: “What problem does electronic tagging solve? How does it solve the problem? What are the costs savings associated with this programme?“The OBA supports the use of technology in the effort to combat crime but it must be used for a good reason and cost-effectively. At this point in time, the action of the Government in this matter has raised many questions and the people deserve to know the answers.”Asked about the questions raised, Mr Edwards replied: “Bermuda Security Group responded to a tender, ‘Electronic Monitoring Request for Proposal (RFP) 2010/159,’ that was posted last year, April 1 2010.”He said the rest of the questions should be addressed to the Ministry to answer.According to the RFP, which can be viewed on the Government website, the Ministry planned to evaluate proposals in a two-stage process. The first would be a shortlist of potential vendors and the second would be a site visit to the manufacturer and a demonstration of the solutions.Implementation was also planned over two stages, firstly using “pretrial offender groups” to “determine satisfactory delivery on the implementation aspect of the project”.The second stage would involve post-trial offenders being tagged, followed by a full rollout in phases “driven by risk, need and budget”.The RFP states that Government wanted to “implement enhanced regimes that will keep the number of offenders in the community at a reasonable level with mechanisms to promote behaviour change and minimise risks to the community”.It said the proposed contract would be for one year with an option to renew for an additional three-year term. The vendor had to satisfy a number of performance and reliability tests set out in the proposal, including the equipment being “highly reliable” in a wide range of climates and environments.Government anticipated that the vendor would be chosen by the end of May 2010 and initial devices installed by June 2010.The Royal Gazette sent all of the OBA’s questions to a Ministry spokesman on Wednesday evening. No answers were forthcoming by press time.