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 […]
cell phone
41 posts
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.