CONVICTS GET CELL PHONES

Convicts in prisons all over the United States have been able to obtain cell phones. In Texas, cell phones have even found their way onto death row.

Cell phones are designated as contraband because they represent a serious security risk to the prison. Inmates can use the phones to get outside help when planning an escape or to facilitate the smuggling of drugs and other contraband. The cell phones can also enable convicts to order “hits” on their enemies and to commit crimes against an unsuspecting public.

When the authorities make a sweep of the prison to seize cell phones they will probably find only the tip of the iceberg. It’s the same as when the authorities seize a large cache of drugs at the border. Such seizures represent just a small fraction of the drugs that are successfully smuggled into the U.S.

How do these phones manage to find their way into the prisons? Some of them are smuggled in by visitors. The only way visitors can bring the phones in is when there are lax security measures. But, I suspect that many of those phones are smuggled in by correctional officers who have been bribed by inmates.

Here is a report on the scope of the problem in California:

THOUSANDS OF CELL PHONES CONFISCATED IN STATE PRISONS

Los Angeles Times
October 1, 2009

State prison officials have confiscated 4,130 contraband cellphones this year, more than all those seized in the previous three years combined, according to an internal report released today.

The findings sparked concern among legislators that the proliferation of cellphones in state lockups is a growing security problem.

More than 100 illegal phones were discovered at the California Institution for Men in Chino, including 10 in August, according to the report from Matthew Cate, head of the state prisons system. But he said there is no evidence that inmates used the devices during a riot that occurred there Aug. 8.

“Investigations conducted within California prisons have supported allegations [that] cellphones have been used by incarcerated felons to participate in criminal activity,” wrote Cate, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Crimes committed by inmates using cellphones have included the planning of escapes, restraining order violations, use of stolen credit cards to purchase inmate quarterly packages and the coordination of smuggling contraband into prisons, Cate said.

Two years ago, state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) proposed legislation that would have made it a crime for inmates to possess cellphones in prison. He also proposed subjecting all prison visitors and employees to more rigorous screening, including the use of metal detectors. His ideas were shelved because of the state’s budget problems.