The Capital Region Government has announced plans to consider using technologies that may interfere with cell phone signals at the Alexander Maconochie Center in Canberra. The country’s mobile phones account for an increasing percentage of contraband seized. This week, a new mobile phone jammer was installed in the Supermax 2 high security department in Goulburn, which houses extremists and terrorists. If the first test is successful, a two-year trial will be held in New South Wales Prison.
The latest generation of systems contains many antennas that interfere with the frequencies normally transmitted by mobile phone signals, rendering the equipment unusable. A spokesperson for the Community Justice and Security Bureau said that the results of the trial in Goulburn may lead to the use of the technology in ACT. He said: “The implementation of cellular interference at the Alexander Maconochie Center is very complicated.” “It is worth noting that this is not the first attempt to use this technology in Australia. So far, it has proved to be different. The resulting solution is expensive.”
The Alexander McConoch Center offers a wide range of mobile phones. In 2017, the Canberra Times revealed that the prisoner was captured with a thumb-sized mobile phone. The size of these portable jammer devices means they can be smuggled into body cavities, and because they contain very little metal, metal detectors are more difficult to pick up. A spokesperson for the Community Justice and Security Bureau said that human rights law in the Australian Capital Territory will not prevent the introduction of mobile phone jamming technology in Canberra Prison because mobile phones are prohibited items. He said: “The detainees can currently obtain phone and email communications through the [Alexander McCanoch Center] to support their relationship with friends and family.”
According to Neil McAllister, ACT’s law enforcement inspector, the region’s government should wait before Galben brings the jammer to justice. One factor to consider when introducing jammer technology in Canberra is whether the technology will affect people around the prison, including those driving on the Monaro Highway, and may need to call emergency services.