Eliminating Contraband Cellphones from SC Prisons

A committee meets next week in Columbia to discuss contraband cellphones getting into South Carolina prisons, says State Senator Thomas Alexander of Oconee County. “It is hard to imagine the amount of contraband cellphones that get into the prison system. There are two or three things that we are trying to address. Not only the Governor has been a leader in this effort but also the head of the prison system, have been going to Washington, D.C. Right now the FCC controls the cellphone waves that are used, so I think it is a multi-approach that we’re having to deal with here. We are in the process of putting up netting above the fences because a lot of the contraband was actually being thrown over the fence from people outside. There are some other things that they doing that I can’t talk about, but another one that I can is partnership with the State Guard, which is the all volunteer guard for the state of South Carolina, not to be confused with the National Guard, but they are going out doing strategic maneuvers around the outside fences to preclude people from throwing things over the fence. We also have a special committee that will be meeting next Thursday in conjunction with the Department of Corrections and with representatives in the cellphone industry to see how we can work together. Really the key is going to come with the technology and having the FCC block the signals. At the end of the day, if you jam the signals going into those limited facilities then that will eliminate the benefit of having a contraband cellphone. If it is not able to function once it is in the prison then it is not really of any value.” Senator Alexander is hopeful that the committee will find a solution to the growing problem of prisoners acquiring contraband cellphones.