Attorney General and Minister of Justice Kim Wilson will spend a week wearing an electronic ankle bracelet the same type that Government intends on using to monitor persons released on bail.

The plan was first announced in the 2009 Throne Speech as a tool for the Department of Court Services as well as Police, the judiciary and the Department of Corrections.

Using GPS satellite tracking, the device is capable of storing such data as areas alleged offenders can and cannot be in.

An electronic signal is sounded if a person violates the conditions of his or her bail by being in a place they are not supposed to be in or by not being where they are supposed to be.

The alarm alerts the individual as well as the relevant authorities.

A similar warning alerts authorities if the bracelet is tampered with or removed without permission.

Ms Wilson said Government has been looking for a device that would help reduce both the prison population and crime levels and control movement of offenders.

She added that involvement in the programme would be voluntary. "Electronic tagging devices are secured to the ankle with a fibre-optic strap that if tampered with, or cut, will break the fibre-optic signal and result in instant violation," she said. "The device battery must be charged for one hour each day and authorities can view online if it is being charged."

Ms Wilson added: "Implementation of electronic monitoring will assist Bermuda in several ways from giving the Police excellent detection tools; allowing more effective case management for Court Services; reducing the prison population; providing offenders with a choice of freedom and incentive for rehabilitation, and helping to create a safer community."

Other uses for the ankle bracelet, as foreseen by Ms Wilson, include use on:

• persons on probation;

• persistent offenders;

• persons with restraining orders against them;

• witnesses to crimes.

While Ms Wilson conceded that she will be wearing the bracelet as a "test" she said a vendor for the device had not yet been chosen.

She was also unable to give an exact date when the plan will be implemented.