AG Wilson joins 22-state push for cell phone jamming in state prisons

(WCIV) — Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Wednesday that he has joined a coalition of 22 other state attorneys general to call for the use of cell phone jamming technologies in state prisons, with the goal of disrupting cellular transmissions coming from contraband cellphones.

“This is something I and three Corrections Directors have been fighting to get passed for years,” said Attorney General Wilson in a prepared statement. “Even though prisoners are not allowed to have cell phones, they get smuggled in. These criminals continue to deal drugs and even order hits from behind prison walls. Federal prisons are allowed to jam cell phone signals within their walls, and it causes no problems outside, so state prisons should be allowed to do it too.”

The current FCC interpretation of federal rules prohibits the use of jamming equipment, and according to the release from the office of the Attorney General, this restriction fails to account for the security needs of facilities such as correctional institutions.

They state that inmates regularly use smuggled phones to coordinate criminal enterprises, intimidate witnesses, and orchestrate violence both inside and outside prison walls. The attorneys general argue that by allowing this to continue by not using jamming technology, they are compromising the safety of correctional staff and other inmates.