The first round of comments on the FCC’s Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the reduction of the cost of all inmate calls are in. Here is one of the more interesting insights we have gleaned from those submissions: The Prison Policy Initiative’s submission on advanced inmate communications services in prison discusses the very real need that these new services (such as the meshDETECT Secure Prison Cell Phone Solution) address: These Services Address a Real […]
cell phone
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A good article below about the forensic value of a confiscated contraband prison cell phone. One clarification, however: A SIM card is not the same as a microSD card – referred to in the article as a data card. The microSD card used in most smart phones is similar to a USB storage device for your PC in that it is used to store user determined data such as documents, pictures, media, etc. A Subscriber […]
This article discusses the TDCJ’s decision to investigate the viability of managed access contraband cell phone jamming. California, Mississippi and Maryland are also testing the technology. The impact of smuggled contraband cell phones in prisons has been significant. As the article states, “A couple of years ago, there were long lines at the pay phones—hours long. By this year, no one was using them, there were so many smuggled cell phones.” Update (3/15/13): Final testing […]
On March 1, 2012 the FCC issued a public notice seeking comments “on concerns and issues related to intentional interruptions of Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS or “wireless service”) by government authorities for the purpose of ensuring public safety.” (GN Docket No. 12-52) As the notice states, “While the important function that wireless service plays in protecting public safety is undisputed, some commentators, including some law enforcement personnel, have raised concerns that wireless networks can […]
A video about an investigation into the contraband cell phone problem at Northern State prison in New Jersey. According to the report, “A former Northern State inmate says they’re easy to get on the inside, but not cheap. $1,500, $1,000, $1,550, it all depends. The cost all depends on whether you want just a regular cell phone or a smart phone which gives the inmate access to the internet, to its maps, directories and search […]
If prisoners can have access to MP3 players, video games, email, and cable TV, why not cell phones? After all, contraband cell phones are a huge problem. In California alone, over 15,000 smuggled cell phones were confiscated from prisoners in 2011. Clearly, there is a demand for more communication by prisoners. Why not provide them a secure prison cell phone solution that maintains all the security and forensic capabilities of prison pay phones? Access to […]
There was a brief posting on the social media site MetaFilter recently regarding the impact of the high cost of prison telecommunications services entitled “Don’t Phone Home From America’s Prisons.” Among the effects of the high cost of prison phone calls is the marked increase in contraband cell phone smuggling across the country. The comments that followed the post primarily discussed individual experiences with prison phone systems. One comment in particular caught our eye: “Jail […]
This article discusses the risk of work release prisoners smuggling contraband cell phones into prison when they return to the jail. It is widely known that many work release prisoners purchase cell phones and hide them outside the jail as well. They grab them when they leave in the morning and return them to their hiding spot on the way back to jail in the evening. The meshDETECT secure prison cell phone solution can be […]
An interesting article about the challenges of newly booked prisoners using the prison pay phones in county jails. As stated in the article, the inablity to make collect calls to cell phones, “strikes people strange that, in this technologically advanced and cellphone-reliant age, there is no easy way to make a collect call to a cellphone, particularly as the number of people without a land line increases. According to a 2010 Centers for Disease Control […]
meshDETECT, Control Contraband Cell Phones Without Investment This presentation on controlling contraband cell phones in prison provides an overview of the problem, of the supply-side strategies currently deployed and of meshDETECT’s secure prison cell phone solution. To learn more, also download our whitepaper, “Reducing the Demand for Contraband Cell Phones in Correctional Facilities.”
This article discusses the legislative initiative to make it a felony in Idaho to smuggle contraband such as cell phones into prison. One interesting fact is that the Idaho Department of Corrections confiscated a cell phone that had been used over 33,000 times in six months. As we have written before, wireless is the new prison currency, and it’s likely that some of this cell phone’s airtime was traded to other prisoners for favors and […]
This article about contraband cell phones in the West Virginia prison system begins, “The latest iPhone won’t be among the items in any West Virginia prison’s commissary. In fact, no cellphones will be there.” What’s interesting is that there really is no reason why cell phones shouldn’t be a commissary item. As long as it a secure prison cell phone with all the controls and security offered by the traditional prison wall phones now used […]
An article discussing the steps the Mississippi DOC is taking to address the supply of contraband cell phones in its prisons. According the Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps, “Cell phones are the biggest contraband items that we have. It’s a national problem in corrections.” The article also discuss the managed access wireless signal jammer installed at the Parchman facility. The system has blocked about 1.8 million illegal cell phone calls and text messages. The […]
Another story about a prisoner using a contraband cell phone to post photos on Facebook. This one is from the UK. We have written about the posting of pictures to Facebook before (here and here). This is a significant issue for prison officials and crime victims alike, caused by the growing problem of smuggled cell phones in prison. Posing for a secret camera in a jail cell packed with goodies, this is teenage murderer Liam […]
An article highlighting the money to be made by corrupt prison employees meeting the demand for contraband prison cell phones. This also highlights the need for a demand-side strategy to the problem of smuggled cell phones in prison. A federal grand jury has indicted a California prison worker on charges that he accepted bribes from prisoners in exchange for cell phones and cigarettes. U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy says medical office technician David Zamudio has been […]
The following is a description of how a contraband cell phone was smuggled into the Delaware County, IN jail by using a string to bring it in through a window! The methods used to smuggle cell phones into prison seem to be endless. The inmate stated that the reason he smuggled the phone is because he was unable to access a jail phone. As is frequently the case, the main demand driving cell phone smuggling […]
Deputies in South Carolina say a woman used two hollowed-out Bibles to try to smuggle drugs, a cell phone and weapons to a prison inmate. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition? Sheriff Barry Faile said Monday authorities began investigating 28-year-old Shareca Latoya Jones earlier this month after a package mailed to Lieber Correctional Institution was returned to a post office in Lancaster. Inside the package were two Bibles containing razor knives, a cell phone, […]
Contraband cell phones are a problem in Canada as well as the US. As this article describes, one method of getting the contraband into a prison is to throw it over the prison fence. Staff at a federal prison in central Alberta have intercepted a package of illegal drugs and contraband cellphones intended for inmates inside. Correctional officers at Bowden Institution, 40 kilometres south of Red Deer, found the contraband during a perimeter check about […]
An interesting look at prison life in Massachusetts. The article states that there are only three inmate phones for over 800 prisoners. By providing a secure cell phone solution such as meshDETECT, the prison can significantly increase detainee access to their families while limiting the safety risks of the prisoner movement necessary to get the prisoners to the pay phones. It’s where no one wants to go. The shower floors are scarred from the blades […]
No technology is perfect, and that includes cell phone jamming technology. The real issue here is how compromised is the wireless blocking system installed at Parchman to combat contraband cell phones? The meshDETECT secure cell phone service has no internet access available so prisoners cannot access Facebook or Twitter. An inmate inside a Mid-South prison has been able to take pictures and post them online, despite a high-tech blocking technology put in place to keep […]
Traditionally, tobacco and stamps have been the preferred currency in prisons. But now it appears that in some prisons cellular airtime on contraband smuggled phones may be the new prison currency. According to this article, prisoners in a South African jail are using smuggled cell phones to run a scam to get wireless airtime. A prison official states, “We have found the phones and sim cards in the strangest of places. Some of them hide […]
This article is about the challenges and indignities of visiting a loved one in jail. The sheriff in charge of the jail discusses the environment in the visiting room, “There are loads of kids there. And a strong part of me says that’s not a good environment for any child. I don’t want kids seeing this stuff. The other side is, if they’re connecting with their father, that’s a good thing, too. We can’t do […]
What happens to contraband cell phones confiscated from prisoners? Here are two articles discussing the donation of these smuggled wireless devices to soldiers and veterans through the organizations Cell Phones for Soldiers and Soldiers Incorporated respectively. We applaud the decision of these Michigan and Georgia prisons to make sure these contraband cell phones are put to good use after being confiscated. LEESBURG, GA — The Macon State Prison donated 1,204 cell phones to a local […]
This news video discusses the use of a cell phone-sniffing dog, appropriately named, “Sprint”, to find smuggled contraband cell phones in Oregon prisons. The video includes a demonstration of Sprint’s skills at the Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem. Within seconds of the start of the demonstration, Sprint honed in on the scent of a cell phone hidden under an inmate’s pillow. According to the report, “High-end electronics such as cell phones have a unique odor. […]
A major concern about contraband cell phones smuggled into jail is the lack of control over the calls made by prisoners. As this article shows, recorded prison phone calls are a key source of evidence in investigations. The meshDETECT secure cell phone solution provides the ability to record and monitor all calls made by prisoners. Domestic violence is one of the most confusing crimes prosecutors have to deal with. The victim and suspect know each […]
Might prison-friendly cell phones be a wiser response to contraband phones smuggled behind bars? So writes Douglas A. Berman the Robert J. Watkins/Procter & Gamble Professor of Law at Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University on his blog Sentencing Law And Policy. Professor Berman, who attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School and who’s principal teaching and research focus is in the area of criminal law and criminal sentencing, states in his […]
According to this article, the GAO has just released a study on the use of contraband cell phones in federal prisons. However the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has not put in place or developed evaluation plans to measure the effectiveness of new technologies to address the smuggled cell phone problem. In fact, according to the GAO report, “BOP has a policy, called Pilot Initiatives, Approval and Evaluation, that identifies numerous criteria that should be […]
According to this article, the going rate for a smuggled contraband cell phone in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan is $2500. Update (7/03/12): An ex-jail official was sentenced yesterday to four months on the other side of the bars for helping an inmate smuggle cellphones and drugs into the federal lockup in downtown Manhattan. Nydia Ciancioso, a former case manager at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, sobbed in court as she apologized for taking […]
This article on the trial of five prison escapees raises the issue of whether a contraband prison cell phone can be considered dangerous contraband. Certainly a smuggled cell phone can be used to plan crimes or harass witnesses, but is the contraband cell phone, in and off itself, dangerous? The defense attorney states, “a cell phone, something that you give your children, something that our middle schools are filled with, is not in it of […]
A series of video news reports on the problem of smuggled prison cell phones in California. This report includes an interesting interview with a prisoner (via his contraband phone!) claiming that most of the contraband cell phones come from the prison guards and that most of the prisoners use the phones to stay in contact with friends and family rather than to plan crimes.
The Baja State Public Safety Secreriat announced Thursday the installation of technology at one of the main Jails in Tijuana that will inhibit inmate’s from make phone calls using mobile phones from within the prison. The 2 million dollar investment made possible the installation of 23 cellular and radio frequency inhibitors. But the inhibitors will not only not allow inmates to make outgoing cellphone calls from the jail, but all employees and visitors. The cell […]
Its not just smuggled cell phones in prisons that can cause problems. This case shows how even approved telecommunications services in prisons can be used for inappropriate purposes. A central Kentucky man faces 600 criminal counts charging he made phone calls from his jail cell to a girl younger than 16 who he is accused of raping. A district judge on Wednesday sent the commonwealth’s case against 29-year-old Steven Smith to a Madison County grand […]
Perhaps Bexar County Jail should re-examine its policy on allowing guards to bring in food, a judge suggested this week as two ex-jailers were convicted in separate courtrooms for smuggling contraband. State District Judge Sid Harle made the comment Monday as he sentenced former jailer William Douglas Hemphill, 33, to five years’ deferred adjudication for smuggling a cell phone to an inmate in a box of ramen noodles. Two months earlier, Harle had sentenced ex-jailer […]
Kershaw County traffic officers made a prison contraband seizure while patrolling on I-20 Saturday. Deputies say they conducted a traffic stop on Reco Maurice Bell of Columbia. A routine driver’s license check indicated that Bell was driving under suspension and operating an uninsured vehicle, said Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews. While interviewing Bell, deputies noticed two duffel bags on the rear seat of his vehicle and asked for permission to search. The officers said in […]
Another prison, another guard, another contraband cell phone… A Corrections Officer has been arrested and charged for his alleged participation in delivering contraband to an inmate. The Western Correctional Institution (WCI) Officer is facing termination after prison intelligence officers suspected he was attempting to bring contraband to an inmate and notified local and federal law enforcement authorities. Officer Brian Hawk, 33, a 9 year veteran of the Division of Corrections is now faces charges of […]
A new law has been passed to ban cell phones in prison cells in Rhode Island. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey and Rep. Raymond H. Johnston Jr. sponsored the bill that makes it illegal for prisoners to possess “any portable electronic communication device.” Under the new law, inmates caught using a cell phone can be punished by a $5,000 fine, a maximum penalty of five more years added on to their prison sentence, […]
The following editorial is a response to one written earlier regarding contraband prison cell phone signal jamming. In it the author, an official of the Maryland DOC states, “Corrections systems must invest, innovate, develop partnerships and educate themselves in order to gain the necessary capabilities to fight this problem.” This is very true, but all the approaches he mentions are related to smuggled cell phone interdiction and detection. None of the solutions contemplate proactively reducing […]
The Michigan DOC is changing prison pay phone vendors and increasing the price of a prison phone call. Some of the increased revenue generated by the new phone rates will be used to install cell phone jammers to thwart smuggled contraband cell phones. The corrections department had contracted with Kansas-based EMBARQ. That contract expired in 2009 but the company agreed to continue service until the department found a new vendor, Cordell said. EMBARQ offered the […]
An update on the contraband prison cell phone legislation currently being considered in California. According to the article, S.B. 26 is Senator Padilla’s fourth attempt to criminalize smuggling and possession of cellphones in prison. A quote from the article, “This cell phone issue is a huge problem in our prison system, and (S.B. 26) is a good start to begin to address it” is no doubt accurate, but the law should be augmented by a […]
Officials tasked with controlling the waves of contraband cell phones in prisons are at a disadvantage. Their options include costly new investment in complex jamming technologies, increasing staff, more physical searches, or new processes; all added to an already over burdened work force. In each case, cell phone control will be expensive, and results will be elusive. meshDETECT is a cell phone access and control platform that was developed to satisfy the access control and […]
Another example of the corrosive effects of smuggled prison cell phones on prison guards: Three South Texas jailers and two others have been charged with conspiring to bribe public officials to smuggle cell phones into a detention center. Charged in a federal indictment unsealed in Corpus Christi on Wednesday are 47-year-old former Nueces County corrections officer Juanita Mendez, 26-year-old Brooks County corrections officer Jose Martinez and his 18-year-old colleague Juan Munoz. Also charged were two […]