Title: Will Cell Phones Be The Downfall Of Prisons?
Headings: Will Cell Phones Be The Downfall Of Prisons?
More From Forbes
Will Cell Phones Be The Downfall Of Prisons?
Joseph Epstein Called Dr. Jill Biden ‘Kiddo’ — A Look At How Misogyny Can Affect Mental Health
It’s Time To Admit: Drugs Won The War On Drugs

Content: Walter Pavlo
Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Personal Finance
I write, consult and lecture on white collar crime situations
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Share to Linkedin
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has tried to address the growing problem of cell phones in the hands of incarcerated inmates. In the event you do not know, cell phones and iPads (Microsoft Surface MSFT -0.9%) are illegal in federal prisons. However, they are everywhere in prisons across the country. Cell phones in prison might expose the public to the terrible conditions of our prisons
Getty
Congress passed the Contraband Cell Phone Act that prohibits the possession of cell phones in prisons by unauthorized persons, like inmates. When a cellular device is confiscated, it is sent to BOP’s Forensic Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for analysis where technicians use forensic software to extract information, including incoming and outgoing phone numbers, text messages and images stored on the phone’s memory (internal and SD card). There can be serious punishment for those found with a cell phone. Last year, one inmate in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary was criminally charged for possessing a cell phone and posting videos to Facebook. Concerning the arrest, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, Chris Hacker said, “The boldness of this inmate to live stream for the world to see is an example of how widespread contraband cell phones are in our prisons.” In March 2019, Martin “Pharm Bro” Shkreli was serving time in the Federal Prison Camp in Ft.