Title: Mobile phones in prison - Wikipedia
Headings: Mobile phones in prison
Mobile phones in prison
Contents
Reasons cell phones are prohibited
Methods of smuggling
Uses by prisoners
Combating mobile phones in prisons
References
External links

Content: Not all inmates use mobile phones for harmful purposes. Many inmates use them to hold innocuous conversations with family and friends. In South Carolina in September 2012, an inmate using an illegal mobile phone alerted authorities about an officer being held hostage, leading to that officer's rescue. Combating mobile phones in prisons
Laws have been passed in various jurisdictions, placing penalties on inmates who possess mobile devices as well as staff who smuggle them in. Inmate penalties range from loss of privileges and behavior credits to additional sentencing. Staff penalties range from disciplinary action from job loss to criminal charges. Consideration has been given to using cell phone jammers inside of prison walls to render them ineffective. The practice of jamming cell phone signals is illegal in the United States. Exceptions to this law have been considered for prisons, though there is concern that a cell phone could be a guard's lifeline in a crisis, and other rescuers may need to use them for communication. Some places are using an experimental technology of managed communications that blocks the communications of inmates while continuing to allow that of others.