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This letter is in response to a “Letter to the Editor” posted on Oct. 27.
As readers of this publication are all too aware, recently the nation has seen an explosion of cell phone use in prisons. Prisoners use smuggled phones to intimidate witnesses, arrange hits on enemies, plan escapes, orchestrate drug deals and generally circumvent the isolation of their incarceration. As cell phones increasingly become the most popular form of contraband, prisons need an effective way to ensure that the phones do not end up in the wrong hands.
Unfortunately, we cannot rely on corrections officers and officials alone to halt the flow of contraband cell phones in to our nation’s prisons. And nor should we when cost efficient and effective technology exists to support our hardworking and understaffed corrections officers.
Numerous solutions to the contraband cell phone problem have been proposed in the last several years, many of them purporting to be the most effective solution. Of all of these options, only one has proven itself through successful and long-term implementation. Cell phone detection has established itself as one of the few solutions that is affordable, scalable, immediately available, and requires no change in the law – a key factor considering the very real and immediate danger presently posed by contraband cell phones in our corrections facilities.
Detection sensors “sniff” out a device’s electronic signature, using precise triangulation software to locate the phone in the facility. The data collected on the servers then allow personnel to take the appropriate action, depending on from where inside the facility the call in question is placed. This can range from monitoring and surveillance of the device, which often gains crucial intelligence about the prison’s criminal activities, to immediate confiscation or other punishments.
Detection doesn’t just find cell phones, either. Some detection software can be used to examine and view both current and past cell phone activity, generating reports so as to better identify repeat offenders, logging all detected signals and keeping a record of all detected cell phones.
Detection systems can also indirectly locate contraband other than cell phones. Prison officials are able to confiscate the cell phone, its SIM card information, and often a myriad of additional contraband stashed with the phone, such as tobacco, weapons, or narcotics. This not only helps the prison maintain a contraband-free environment, but also lightens the burden on less effective ways of searching for contraband, such as inmate searches and canine-aided inspections.
Additionally, only detection is able to differentiate between calls originating from “safe” areas, like prison offices or parking lots, and calls placed from inside cellblocks or designated off-limits areas. Perhaps most importantly, detection software – unlike other developmental technologies – does not place emergency or 911 communications in jeopardy, ensuring that prison operations continue to run smoothly and safely.
Cell phones will only continue to grow in popularity as more inmates realize that they provide the only unmonitored form of communication to people outside of the prison. Detection solutions, however, provide prison officials with a scalable and affordable way to monitor cell phone activity inside of the prison to ensure that no unauthorized people are using cell phones. Detection has also proven itself to be better than the other proposed solutions – it neither interferes with legitimate or emergency communications, nor affects those living in close proximity to the prison.
Detection offers the most comprehensive way to monitor the flow of cell phones within our nation’s prisons. Detection technology has already proven itself to be effective and is currently used in facilities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and by the Federal Board of Prisons. As prisons continue to cope with new, 21st Century problems, it is only appropriate that they are equipped with the best 21st Century solutions. Cell phone detection has proven itself to be that solution.
Terry L. Bittner, Director of Security Products, ITT Corp.
