Legal Commentary

SC Prison Officials Want to Jam Cellphones

By TChris

Prisoners buy cellphones from guards or smuggle them into the prison during visits with friends and family. Some phones are discovered during shakedowns, but inmates find creative hiding places, particularly in larger, older prisons that don't have Supermax technology.

To counter a perceived security risk, South Carolina prison officials are exploring the possibility of jamming cellphone signals inside prison walls. Would you want to live within a mile of a large institution that jams cellphone transmissions?

Critics say it's impossible to contain the jamming technology to one or two buildings, and that using it runs the risk of affecting people using phones nearby.

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"You can prevent emergency calls if these jammers are allowed," said Joe Farren, spokesman for CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for the wireless industry. "You put signal jammers in, you interfere with critical communications, life and death."

That worry is shared by Zack Kendall, a security specialist for North Carolina's prison system, who said he doesn't know whether his prisons would take advantage of signal blocking because it could interfere with internal radio communications.

The company that wants to sell the jamming equipment to South Carolina assures prison officials that the jammers will be angled to confine their reach. Even if that's true, South Carolina faces an obstacle: a federal law prohibits interference with the airwaves.

The Federal Communications Commission can give federal agencies the authority to use such jammers. But there's no such provision for state and local law enforcement. ...

"We have no authority to even grant it if we thought it was worthwhile or something that was warranted," said Robert Kenny, a spokesman for the FCC. "It's likely going to take some level of action by Congress."

Will schools be next? Can't stop kids from texting in class without jamming their phones. Should factories be able to jam so that employees aren't distracted from their work by personal calls? Restaurants? Libraries? Judges would love to jam cellphones in courtrooms.

Congress should tell South Carolina to find a different solution to its problem. Leave the airwaves alone.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on October 22, 2008 (boomark / email).