Prison hosts cell phone jamming demonstration 11/21/2008 9:23 PM By MEG KINNARD Associated Press
RIDGEVILLE -- Despite a federal law against jamming cell phone signals, officials from several state corrections departments gathered at a South Carolina prison Friday for a demonstration of equipment that blocks the wireless calls, in the hopes they'll be allowed to use it someday themselves.
Regulators can grant permission to federal agencies - but not to state or local ones - to use the technology, which renders cell phone signals useless. The equipment prevents cell tower transmissions from reaching the phone.
South Carolina Corrections Director Jon Ozmint invited a company that makes and sells the equipment to conduct the demonstration.
"In this prison system as we speak, there is likely an inmate using a cell phone," said Ozmint, who says contraband cell phones are one of the biggest security problems in prisons across the state and nation. "Every prison system in the country is dealing with this problem. ... The solution is simple: jamming."
Experts say the consequences of inmates using cell phones can be dire. Authorities say a Maryland man was gunned down outside his home last summer after a suspect ordered a hit on him from behind bars. In Texas last month, prison officials arrested the mother of a death row inmate on charges she paid for minutes on a cell phone that had been smuggled to her condemned son - who authorities say called a state senator to say he knew the lawmaker's daughters' names.
But critics say it's impossible to contain the jamming technology to one or two buildings, and that using it runs the risk of affecting people using phones nearby.
Earlier this month, Steve Largent, president of CTIA-The Wireless Association, called on the FCC to enforce the ban and stop Friday's demonstration from taking place, but regulators said they would not step in.
Ozmint and dozens of corrections officials, reporters and representatives from U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint's office watched as CellAntenna Corp. CEO Howard Melamed flipped a switch on a black, briefcase-sized device. When the equipment began to whir gently, it emitted a frequency that immediately shut down cell phones around the auditorium. But outside the room, cell service was uninterrupted, something Melamed says shows how specific his devices can be.
"We only jam areas that we have to," said Melamed, whose device can block signals in a 10,000-square-foot area at maximum power. "You don't even have to jam the whole prison."
Melamed, who sells his equipment to prison systems around the world, said Friday's demonstration was his first ever in a state prison within the U.S. After Ozmint contacted him, Melamed says he's gotten calls from almost all 50 states and is making plans to conduct demonstrations across the country.
Ozmint is hoping Melamed will have a chance to sell his equipment to corrections systems soon, starting with South Carolina. On Friday, Ozmint announced he would petition the Federal Communications Commission for permission to conduct a long-term pilot program using the technology at the state's prisons and would ask DeMint and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham to introduce legislation to change the federal law.
"I know the federal government knows that it works," Ozmint said. "Guess who's allowed to jam? Them."
Spokesman Robert Kenny said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has publicly offered support to law enforcement and prisons seeking to use jamming equipment, is willing to work with them on the issue and will "give careful consideration" to Ozmint's petition.
Zack Kendall, a security specialist for North Carolina's prison system, said he drove down to the South Carolina maximum security prison to learn more about the jamming technology.
"It would be nice to completely negate the usefulness of cell phones in a facility," said Kendall, whose system has also trained a dog typically tasked with sniffing out drugs to root out cell phone batteries instead. "Everything we've looked at so far has been about detection and prevention."
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Posted by: dreamjoe@aol.com On: Thursday, August 20, 2009 2:10 PM
Comment Title: Jamming cell phones
Just read the comment about continuing security measures to keep cell phones out of prison, but also monitor for outgoing calls to find out what is being discussed on the illicit phone calls and heading them off at the pass.
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Posted by: ET On: Friday, November 21, 2008 9:11 PM
Comment Title: Doing the opposite of jamming would be better.
Take advantage of listening in on the calls to find out who is bring what into the prison. It's Illegal to have the phone, so it can't be Illegal to tap any communication in the prison.
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