June 11, 2004
The newest prison contraband: cellphones
Yet another article on prison inmates and cell phones, this time from the Christian Science Monitor.
"What was once a simple annoyance is now a growing problem in prisons and jails across America. Cellphones are becoming the newest form of coveted contraband, allowing inmates to communicate freely with the outside world and, at times, conduct illicit activity from behind bars. While the problem is not yet widespread, it's growing larger, keeping pace with a high-tech, wireless world.
In Texas, for instance, a correctional officer was recently charged with bribery and drug possession after trying to smuggle a cellphone and heroin into a prison south of Houston.
If found guilty, she will be sentenced under a new law passed in last year's legislative session that made it a felony to provide an inmate with a cellphone. More and more states are passing such laws as trouble crops up."
Cellphones are making their way into jails and prison through all kinds of methods: They're stuffed inside mayonnaise jars, hidden in compost piles, shoved into the soles of shoes, slipped inside hollowed-out blocks of cheese. But the most alarming way to obtain a cellphone is to simply to pay a corrupt correctional officer to provide one.
How inmates around the world use cell phones is a recurring issue. cf related articles:
-- Cell phones becoming one of most prized contraband items - Cell phones have joined the ranks of the most prized illicit commodities inside Texas prison cells
-- Crossed signals over jail mobile phone jamming - The New South Wales Government has accused the Federal Government of blocking a trial of mobile phone jamming in the State's jails
-- Prisoners shown smoking drugs and using mobiles - A Brazilian TV station has shocked the country by screening footage of maximum security prisoners freely smoking cannabis and using mobile phones.
-- Inmate Sentenced for Nextel Phone Scam - A US inmate used a jail telephone to impersonate Hollywood executives and dupe Nextel Communications out of more than 1,000 cell phones.
-- Mobiles in top security prison - Four mobiles were discovered hidden by inmates at one of Britain's top security prisons.
-- Staying well connected in jail - A mafia don in prison in New Delhi, planned the killing of Police officers by SMS.
-- Convict ran drug ring from prison - A Canadian inmate organized a cocaine run from Miami to Canada. Partners on the outside paid for his cell phone bills through phone cards.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2004/06/004123.htm