Columbia, South Carolina (Associated Press)-Federal officials oversaw South Carolina ’s prison testing of cell phone signal jammer technology in the hope that the technology will help fight this threat. Officials told the Associated Press that prisoners used cell phones smuggling.
Officials at the Ministry of Justice said the test was conducted in Kuanhe Correctional Institution for five days. The prison is the highest security prison in Columbia, South Carolina. Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams told the Associated Press that this is the first time federal officials have cooperated with state prison officials to conduct such tests.
The official has not yet released the test results, which will be included in future reports prepared by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The test marked the progress of efforts to end the use of prohibited mobile phones at the national level, and officials said that this has long constituted a major threat to the safety of their institutions. Last year, miniature jammer technology was tested in federal prisons-officials said that when the device was operating within a distance of 6 meters, they were able to cut off the phone signal in the prison cell-but a decades-old The law provides that local institutions have no right to disrupt public broadcasting.
Bryan Stirling, director of correctional services in South Carolina, has been talking about the dangers of thousands of devices being brought into the agency for many years, he told the Associated Press that he was recently replaced as a special representative of the United States Grant him the federal identity needed to perform the task. gps jammer test.
Sterling told the Associated Press on Friday: “What we saw on the Broad River this week made me very encouraged.” He added that he is optimistic about the federal legislation introduced last month, which will Give prison officials an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to stop signals.
In 2008, representatives of South Carolina received an exemption from the Federal Communications Commission to conduct interference tests in another highest security prison to show demonstrations to the media and other officials, but not in dormitories.
Sterling and other state prison supervisors use other measures-cell phone detection, such as perimeter management, drone monitoring and scanners-but advocate the use of jamming technology to stop everything that represents the best defense.
In 2017, Stirling testified with former South Carolina Correctional Officer Robert Johnson at the FCC hearing in Washington, who was nearly killed by a prisoner on the phone in 2010 and nearly died.
In the same year, a prisoner escaped from one of the highest security prisons in South Carolina, in part because of smuggling of mobile phones. In 2018, seven prisoners in South Carolina’s highest security prison were killed in a gang that officials described as gangs fighting for territory and smuggling (including cell phones).
By holding a live hearing in South Carolina and meeting with members of Congress, prison officials and wireless industry stakeholders, the FCC expressed its willingness to work on this issue.
Williams said Friday that officials are ensuring that prisons have technological options to help them combat smuggling equipment.
Williams told the Associated Press: “It is very difficult to ensure that no contraband is entered.” “We are doing our best, but it is really difficult to stop everything.”