Former MP: Put GPS monitoring on abusive partners

Former MP Alicia Hospedales has called for the implementation of GPS monitoring and abuse victims and offenders, and said this system may have saved 26-year-old Samantha Isaacs’ life.

Hospedales made the comments at Isaacs’ funeral held yesterday at Jesus is the Answer Church, Diego Martin. On Saturday Isaacs, 26, was abducted and shot in Carenage by Kahriym Garcia, 31, her ex-boyfriend and father of her three year-old son Kaiden. Garcia shot and killed himself when confronted by police hours later. Isaacs had sought a protection order against Garcia who made multiple death threats against her and her family.

She was an employee of Digicel and Hospedales, Digicel Group senior government relations and affairs executive, delivered a tribute on behalf of the telecom company. She said Isaacs was taken away too soon and her murder reflected the deep weaknesses in the judicial and protective system. She recommended GPS tracking and monitoring of victims and offenders simultaneously. Hospedales said offenders are normally told to stay away but, since there is no system to monitor them, the offender was able to return and assault the victim.

She said with GPS monitoring, it would provide a notification to the victim and the police when the offender is approaching and the victim would be able to escape while the police can rearrest the offender.

“If a system like this was implemented, Samantha may still be alive.”

She also called on men to speak out against men who assault women, and to condemn them and hold them accountable. She said we need to look out for each other with the same level of vigilance that we would protect ourselves and our family.