The UK Justice Secretary recently announced that more prisoners will get in-cell phones to help maintain the family ties which can cut re-offending by 40%. The Justice Secretary unveiled plans for a further £10 million roll-out of in-cell landline telephones to help prisoners preserve relationships with their own loved ones and reduce tension on prison wings. In justifying the investment, the announcement highlighted the three main benefits of enhanced communication: Family ties are a vital […]
cellphones
16 posts
A Texas Tribune investigation has found that few inmates or correctional officers face legal consequences for smuggling cellphones even as prison officials have intensified efforts to keep the devices out of prisons. Just 5 percent of cellphone smuggling cases investigated by the Criminal Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General from 2009 to 2013 resulted in a criminal sentence, according to documents obtained from the office through a public information request. Some notable excerpts from the […]
A new prison in Australia is proposing the installation of advanced technology in each of the cells. This will include in-cell telephones. The private prison company Serco states, “The introduction of in-cell telephones in its overseas prisons had resulted in significant improvements in prison security, including a drop in the number of prisoners trying to smuggle cellphones.” The meshDETECT secure prison cell phone solution allows existing prisons and jails to realize the same reduction in […]
This article by David Yannetti, describes not only the criminal uses of contraband prison cell phones, but also the potentially positive effects on maintaining family ties via a managed and secure prison cell phone solution: Recent news reports highlight the challenge prison officials face in dealing with the proliferation of cell phone usage in prison across the nation. Cell phones are nominally prohibited for prisoners in all state and federal prisons, but they turn up […]
An interesting overview of the problems smuggled cell phones in prison create in jails throughout the United States. As usual however, the discussion of possible solutions focuses on reducing supply and signal jamming, but offers no consideration of a strategy reducing the DEMAND for contraband cell phones. By co-opting prisoners’ legitimate desire for more frequent and easier telephone access to family, prisons can reduce the overall demand for contraband cell phones and reduce the incentive […]
Smuggled cell phone detection by a dog at Riker’s Island prison is the topic of this article. The article states that smuggled cellphones haven’t been as big a problem in New York as they’ve been in other areas. The reason is the generous policy on the use of land lines. “New York state facilities charge inmates less for phone use and offer greater access than other states, said state prison spokesman Peter Cutler. That cuts […]
Smuggled cell phones in prison are a problem globally as this article from South Africa highlights. As in the US, the contraband phones are believed to be smuggled into the prison by guards. In addition to the scam mentioned in the article, “Prisoners use the phones to contact family and spouses, or to surf the internet.” Just as they are used in prisons here. Sixty cellphones, sim cards, a bucketful of phone chargers, earphones and […]
This article highlights some of the challenges and issues associated with the use of wireless signal jammers to stop the use of contraband cell phones smuggled into a prison in India. With a spate of murders and extortions being abetted from Puducherry Central Prison in India by criminals inside, the Jail authorities have woken up and have taken stringent measures. A team of security personnel on special duty seized a dozen cellphones from the jail […]
The smuggling of cellphones into California prisons continues, even as the legislation to criminalize contraband cell phone smuggling moves forward in the legislature. Staff at Avenal State Prison last week found cellphones, cellphone batteries and chargers and tobacco after a sergeant noticed a security fence breach on the south of the facility. The discovery on Friday came one day after a key legislative committee approved Senate Bill 26, which would criminalize smuggling wireless devices into […]
The Washington State Department of corrections has asked Facebook to remove inmate Facebook pages. It joins California in trying to stop the social media activity of prisoners. Internet access on smuggled cell phones is not thought to be a major contributor to the problem, but over time this will change. Facebook, which has become the ultimate time killer, will likely no longer be permitted for people serving time. The Washington state Department of Corrections (DOC) […]
This recent editorial on contraband cell phones from the LA Times advocates making the penalties for smuggling cell phones into prisons harsher. And perhaps tougher penalties for those guards and prison staff who are caught smuggling prison cell phones would act as deterrence for some. But with over 10,000 cell phones confiscated in California jails last year alone, it is unlikely a new law will significantly stem the tide of smuggled wireless phones into prisons. […]
One of the main problems with contraband cell phones smuggled into prisons is the use of the internet via these wireless devices. Detainees then use the smuggled phones to access Twitter and Facebook. The meshDETECT secure cell phone solution offers an alternative to contraband cell phones and do not have internet access or other common features such as cameras. They are uniquely provisioned for a prison environment. Call it the anti-social network! Facebook is stepping […]
Here are two great insights into the demand for contraband prison cell phones and the desire for communication via telephone service in general in the nation’s State prisons. The meshDETECT secure cell phone service is a solution that reduces the contraband value of smuggled cell phones while improving detainees’ ability to communicate with family and friends: Securus Technologies, an inmate telephone service provider, recently stated that the company “now completes over 120 million calls from […]
This article describes how Federal prison inmates can now use email. It’s a cumbersome process, but it demonstrates how modern communications technology and tools are slowly being adapted for the unique requirements of the corrections marketplace. Eventually, the meshDETECT secure cell phone service will offer secure, controlled email along with phone calls. The Facebook page reads: “We are inmates in the federal system who are looking for someone to talk to. We have e-mail capability […]
Of course we know that making it illegal will not stop the demand and therefore not stop contraband cell phones from being smuggled into prisons. Only addressing the demand for prison cell phones by providing a secure prison cell phone service will reduce the contraband value of smuggled cell phones. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is lobbying to revive a bill that would make it illegal to smuggle cellphones into California prisons. Currently, it’s a violation […]
A former guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, OK was ordered Monday to stand trial on a charge of bringing two cell phones and several pouches of tobacco into secure areas of the private prison in Cushing. Danny James Galbreath, 24, of Broken Arrow, waived his right Monday to a preliminary hearing on the felony count of bringing cell phones into the prison — which are considered contraband in a penal facility. Galbreath […]