Forcing inmates to smuggle handsets like this would be a good deterrent.
Jamming cell phone signals in prison sounds like a good idea, on the surface. But, dig a little deeper, and you’ll quickly realize that the government-mandated wireless jamming bill is full of pit-falls and dangerous loopholes. The plan to jam cellular signals in prisons is so controversial that public interest groups have taken action with protests against the wireless signal jamming bill.
It’s true that cellphones pose a major problem for prisons. Inmates can use easily-smuggled (sometimes quite creatively) and even more easily-hidden mobile phones to communicate with the “outside.” With nothing more than a basic cell phone, convicted criminals can order “hits,” manage drug dealings and even threaten US Senators. That last part is no joke. A convicted murderer used a cellphone to call Texas state Senator John Whitmire with complaints of his poor treatment on Death Row.
The problem has gotten bad enough to prompt Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson to introduce a new bill that would legalize the use of cellphone jammers in prisons (this technology has been otherwise banned by the FCC for its potential danger to public safety) – the Safe Prisons Communication Act of 2009.
Public interest groups have come out against the bill, warning the Senate Commerce Committee that the jamming bill would result in collateral damage to legitimate cellphone users. Instead, the CTIA suggested that prisons could use cell-signal detection systems to help correctional facilities track down offending cellphones. The signal-trackers can pinpoint the location of an unauthorized cell signal, allowing authorities to confiscate the device or monitor communications to and from that cellphone for investigative purposes.
The bill could have long-lasting ramifications that may prove detrimental to public safety and civil rights. If anything, the government’s threat of cellphone jamming legislation has spurred the private sector into action. As Slate puts it,” Is industry better than government at coming up with creative, pinpoint solutions? Yes. Will industry do this without the threat of clumsy, burdensome government intervention? No.”
[Via: Slate]