SC Federal Bureau of Prisons successfully tests technology to jam cell phones

Columbia, SC (WOLO) — The Federal Bureau of Prisons has been working on various ways to keep inmates from the Broad River Correctional institution from being able to use counterfeit cell phones while behind bars. Officials say, for the first time inside of a state corrections facility they have tested out new technology that will limit wireless communication inside the facility , but will not affect any service in the surrounding area.

SCDC Director Bryan Sterling the technology woks and has the ability to change everything and make prisons as safe as possible for everyone. According to SCDC, contraband cell phones are the most dangerous weapon in prisons at this time, because officials say they can and according to authorities have been used order murders, put together escape plans an black mail and extort money from innocent people.

Within the past 3 years SCDC has been able to confiscate more than 19 thousand cell phones as well as accessories that were smuggled into the facility. This new technology will render the cell phone useless by blocking its signal. The federal Communication Commission has control over the airwaves and under the current law would not be able to jam cell phone signals.

Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Lindsay Graham, and Representative David Kustoff are trying to change that with legislation that was introduced into Congress last month, giving prisons the ability to block the cell phone signals.

SCDC Director Bryan Sterling says, “Now it’s time for Congress to pass the legislation that will allow South Carolina and the rest of the nation to use it to keep the public safe,” Stirling said. “It’s the right thing to do.”