Prison chiefs use signal jammer to prevent inmates from using cell phones in prisons.
A law enforcement department document seen by Sowetan says it is in talks with the South African Independent Communications Agency to “explore various technical and legal solutions, including but not limited to cell phone jamming”.
The department also wants to spread the installation of mobile phone detection systems in various prisons to help officials identify and remove unauthorized communication devices.
Mobile phone detectors are currently being installed in 39 prisons, while another 14 body scanners are being used in seven prisons to help authorities stop cell phone smuggling.
According to the Icasa Guide to Using Frequency Spectra, the use of jamming devices including cell phone jammers is prohibited in South Africa for reasons of security and efficient electronic communication.
But after a signal jammer was used during President Jacob Zuma’s speech earlier this year, Icasa said that the use of jammers by entities other than national security cluster departments is not authorized and not allowed. At the time, the agency said that national security cluster departments, if supported by relevant security laws, could use jammers to address, among other things, government security functions.
Several media companies and the SA’s National Forum have appealed the decision of the Western Cape High Court to declare the use of the signal jammer in parliament illegal. Prisoners in Pollsmoor in Cape Town recently caused a stir when they set up their own Facebook page and started posting photos of themselves in their orange prison clothes.
In June, President Mahube Molemela wrote a report after a judicial investigation at Zonderwater Prison in Cullinan, Tshwane.
Molemela found that the prison had a serious problem of drug and cell phone smuggling, mainly due to the shortage of staff and the overcrowding of community cells.
But the judge also found that because the prison had adult elementary school students and 11 students from the University of South Africa, it should allow prisoners to have laptops in their cells.
“There is no reason why students are not allowed to have laptops in their cells. A laptop that does not have Internet access cannot pose a threat to the security of the facility,” said Molemela.
The South African courts have previously ruled in favor of prisoners who are college students who want access to the Internet for their studies, but this must be monitored and used “for study purposes only”.
Icasas Paseka Maleka did not respond to the comments made on Thursday. Logan Maistry of Correctional Services said he needed more time to respond.