Title: Cell Phones in Prisons | National Institute of Justice
Headings: Cell Phones in Prisons
Cell Phones in Prisons
Introduction
Cell Phones Are a Widespread Problem
Talking About Cell Phones
Cell Phones as Contraband
Shutting Down Cell Phones
Federal Government Rules
Countering the Problem
Guidebook for Administrators
Cite this Article

Content: Cell Phones Are a Widespread Problem
Talking About Cell Phones
In 2010, NIJ hosted a plenary session "Cell Phones in Prisons," which involved a discussion among Federal and State Corrections officials, the FCC and NTIA. Listen to the plenary or read the transcript. The issue of cellular phone use by criminals, especially prison and jail inmates, gained national attention when a death row inmate used a cell phone to threaten a Texas senator. In Nevada, prison officials fired a dental assistant for helping an inmate get a cell phone to plan a successful escape. In New York, an inmate used a cell phone to orchestrate an attempted escape while on a medical transfer. In Tennessee, prison officials banned jars of peanut butter after learning that an inmate accused in the shooting death of a guard had used a jar to hide the cell phone he used to coordinate his escape. Prisoners have also used cell phones to harass and threaten their victims. In Texas, courts have convicted more than a dozen corrections officers in recent years for accepting bribes in exchange for cell phones or phone parts. Cell Phones as Contraband
The number of contraband cell phones being confiscated is also noteworthy. For example, in California, correctional officers seized 1,331 cell phones in the first six months of 2008.