The judiciary poses a huge problem to smuggling, not only because the undisclosed number of undetected devices is also high. “Mobile phones are a security risk because prisoners’ contacts with the outside world cannot be controlled,” said Stolpe. For example, prisoners could use telephone calls to influence witnesses in court proceedings, make escape plans with people outside the institution, or organize drug deals.
UK Prisons face a crisis caused by tens of thousands of smuggled cell phones, investigation reveals. Disadvantages they use for everything from ongoing criminal empires outside the prison walls to intimidation and order medication in them. Now prison officials are calling for a tougher approach to this “cancer” – including blocking calls with signal jammer. Has been repeatedly lagging after booze and drug parties and recording bare ankles.
Hidden in fish cans, thrown over the wall at night or smuggled by lawyers – mobile phones are increasingly being illegally taken to the five prisons in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. In 2014, 408 smartphones and cell phones were seized during controls. In the first half of this year there were 158 mobile devices.
Five years ago, the Baden-Württemberg prison in Offenburg was the first German prison to install cellphone transmitters. In order to avoid interference with cell phones outside of the correctional facility, 700 small jamming transmitters were installed throughout the property. Cost: around one million euros.
Jammers and socket cards were identified as government devices planned to implement to curb cellular use. The antennas take three to four weeks to install and leave users with no signal, including 3G and 4G band. The devices work by transmitting their own radio signals to encrypt transmissions in a specific area. The technology can be twinned with trackers that identify individual phones being blocked.