The Justice Department has published a report detailing a strategy aimed at curbing criminal behavior within correctional facilities: a successful trial of a signal jammers that effectively disrupted mobile signals from contraband phones located in a Maryland prison.
The information circulated rapidly among correctional facilities. For Brian Sterling, the director of the South Carolina Department of Prisons, this development reinforced his conviction that jamming technology represented the most economical and efficient solution to curtail the flow of mobile phones into prisons.
A cell phone jammers is a compact and affordable device that produces a constant signal to an antenna, thereby preventing any mobile phone from initiating or receiving calls. These jamming devices are typically low-cost, with numerous options available through a simple online search, priced between $119 and $650.
Correctional authorities have historically held the view that inmates devise various inventive methods to smuggle phones into correctional facilities. In South Carolina, Sterling noted that couriers would traverse wooded areas and throw backpacks filled with illegal items over the prison barriers; additionally, drones would hover over prison grounds, timing their drops of phones to coincide with the absence of guards.
It is essential that we possess all the necessary resources to engage in this struggle.
Sterling has established 50-foot nets surrounding his facility, removed trees to complicate the escape of drones post-delivery, installed advanced metal detectors, and assisted the Justice Department in several prosecutions of employees involved in the smuggling of cell phones.
Sterling conveyed to me during a phone interview, "This is a war. We require every available resource to engage in this battle."
Sterling's significant realization stemmed from the shooting incident involving one of his correctional officers. On March 5, 2010, Captain Robert Johnson was at his residence in Sumter, South Carolina, when an assailant forcibly entered and shot him six times at close range using a .38-caliber revolver. The perpetrator was identified as Robert Odell Brown, 33, who had been fatally injured in February during a confrontation among inmates at the Lee County Correctional Facility in Bishopville, South Carolina.
The assault was orchestrated by the Lee County Correctional Facility using a cell phone. Since that incident, Sterling has been actively pursuing the implementation of jammers within correctional institutions.
An additional option to jamming involves the utilization of small box antennas, which are relatively affordable, costing approximately $400, and can effectively cover an area equivalent to a city block with around 10 units. These boxes need to be interconnected; however, once the system is established, all mobile devices will automatically link to these antennas, preventing signals from exiting the confined yard. Levitan indicated that this method can obstruct calls without relying on the aggressive tactics of jamming technology, provided that the facility oversees the equipment.
The study indicates that the operating expenses associated with a controlled access system and jamming are minimal, with controlled access proving to be a more adaptable solution for blocking cell phone usage. Implementing jamming technology in correctional facilities would require a precision-based system, which incurs higher costs.
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