# Cell Phones in Jail? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525 "2009-05-06T09:26:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/1 "2009-05-06T09:26:01Z")
Now and then, it is said that drug lords have been conducting business behind bars by cell phone. I’m totally ignorant here, but don’t they “check their possessions” at the door (so to speak) when they are first jailed? Or, is that just Hollywood? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/2 "2009-05-06T09:47:11Z")
Well, cellphones are getting small enough now to where I suppose one could smuggle one in… (that’s what _she_ said!) Apart from that unlikely scenario, one could bribe a guard to let you have or use one… I’ll bet they don’t let visitors bring them in. Perhaps you could have someone hide one within reach by the fence. But I suspect a lot of this notion is hyperbole. Anyone powerful enough to have business they need to conduct personally from inside probably has enough juice to do lots of things like that – and those guys don’t get busted too often. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/3 "2009-05-06T11:41:26Z")
Do jail cells have power outlets? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/4 "2009-05-06T12:20:32Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Do jail cells have power outlets? Prison cells do, because inmates are allowed to have radios, and sometimes TVs or coffee pots. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/5 "2009-05-06T13:01:39Z")
apparently cell phone use in prisons is against the rules-and widely done. There was one funny story (sorry, no cite) about a warden in Texas who got a phone call from an irate mother who was upset that her son’s cell had poor cell phone reception. She wanted him moved so that he could use his cell (ha-a pun!) more conveniently. I don’t think she got the result she was looking for. I have also read that companies are working hard to develop effective tracking systems so that the phones can actually be located based on their transmissions and maybe even jammed. Turns out this is not a technically easy thing to do. Especially since the guards all have cells and use them a lot. Separating the “legal” from the illegal transmissions is tough. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/6 "2009-05-06T14:15:53Z")
In Australia, they make you empty your pockets and take off your jacket and belt and any loose clothing before they let you in to visit a prisoner. I’ve visited two prisons and a lock-up, they all have the same sort of security checks. There’s a metal detector and a weird thing that’s like a phone booth with fans in it which supposedly detects drugs, they call it the “drug sniffer”. I’d expect other developed countries all have the same sort of hardware. They’re quite thorough, so it wouldn’t be easy to smuggle things in, though I did spot a couple of ways that _might_ have worked _if_ I was completely insane and wanted to risk ending up staying. You have to fill out a bunch of paperwork, too, and you have to warn them a couple of days in advance of the first time you visit so they can run a security check on you. In the visiting area, there are usually two kinds of arrangements: the separate one, where you sit in a booth with a glass screen between you and the prisoner, and what they call a “contact” visit, which means everybody sits around at little tables that are bolted to the floor, and you’re allowed to shake hands/hug etc. Couples can (and do) make out during visits. Wives/girlfriends bring babies/children, so there’s quite a lot happening during visiting hours. You’re under observation the whole time in the visiting room. There is a lot happening, but it’d be possible to hand something over and not be seen if you timed it right. However, you’d have to be crazy - there’s no way any sane and non-idiotic person would want to risk getting caught doing that, particularly with the excellent example all around you of where you end up if you get caught committing a serious crime. They also (in the ones I’ve been in) make the prisoners in the visiting room wear these canvas body suits that they’re literally _locked_ into with a padlock. No pockets in those suits. So, all in all, I could see how it _could_ be done, if you were determined and insane. Obviously it _is_ done, on occasion. But don’t believe _anything_ you’ve seen on TV/in films. The reality of prison (even as a visitor) is infinitely more depressing and oppressive than anything that could be put on screen. There’s just no comparison. And the jails I’ve visited were _good_ ones, apparently. As for exactly how cell phones are smuggled in - from what I’ve heard, most serious contraband comes into prison inside the bodies of new arrivals. Someone with criminal connections who is sentenced to prison often swallows or inserts whatever is required, because - duh - if the stuff gets through, instant powerful friends. There are several ways this method can go horribly wrong, of course. I’ve heard of people who are suspected to be smuggling drugs being caught by opposing factions (or just plain greedy psychos, there are plenty of them in jail) and being subjected to amateur (and usually fatal) surgery. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/7 "2009-05-06T15:28:50Z")
It’s a huge problem. Last year, California prisons confiscated 2800 cell phones from inmates. One popular way to get phones in is to bribe the guards. > [@](#): > > Last year, a 22-year veteran guard at the Vacaville prison resigned after admitting that he brought in phones almost every day for inmates, earning $100 to $400 for each phone. He admitted pocketing more than $100,000 from the scheme. (From this [AP story](http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/04/14/prisons_press_fight_against_smuggled_cell_phones/).) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/8 "2009-05-06T16:38:24Z")
Cell phones are highly illegal in New York prisons, for prisoners and employees. In fact up until recently, employees were not allowed to have a cellphone on prison property even if it was locked in their car out in the parking lot. Getting caught with a cellphone will get you at least a ninety day suspension and giving one to a prisoner will get you fired and arrested. But that said, there are cellphones inside prisons. They get smuggled in just like drugs or weaons or cash. The fact that they have become so small has made them relatively easy to get inside. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/9 "2009-05-06T16:52:21Z")
Didn’t they actually have access to computers at one point? I’m sure I recall reading a few years ago about internet scams being run by convicts from prison. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/10 "2009-05-06T16:58:52Z")
Even if one is not a drug kingpin, simple economics would make it worthwhile. States have awarded the contracts for the telephones in prisons to companies that [charge sky-high fees for collect calls](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-21-jail-calling_x.htm). A Louisiana prisoner trying to rehabilitate and maintain contact with his or her family outside will find that family [slammed with collect charges](http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2009/03/louisianaas_pri.html) of 35 cents per minute if they are in the state and 47 cents per minute out of state. Despite the current “screw 'em, they’re in prison” rhetoric, most people who are in prison are going to get out some day. Allowing them contact with their families [reduces recidivism](http://2009transition.org/criminaljustice/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=113). ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/11 "2009-05-06T17:35:50Z")
If the guards won’t smuggle them in for you, you can always use pigeons: [http://www.switched.com/2009/04/06/prisoners-importing-cell-phones-via-pigeon/](http://www.switched.com/2009/04/06/prisoners-importing-cell-phones-via-pigeon/) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/12 "2009-05-06T17:42:29Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Despite the current “screw 'em, they’re in prison” rhetoric, most people who are in prison are going to get out some day. Allowing them contact with their families [reduces recidivism](http://2009transition.org/criminaljustice/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=113). While that’s true, allowing cell phones in is not the answer. At least not in medium and maximum-security institutions. Too many ways they can be used to compromise security, like notifying one’s friends that one is being taken out for a hospital visit, and that it would be a good opportunity to spring him. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/13 "2009-05-06T17:47:57Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > apparently cell phone use in prisons is against the rules-and widely done. There was one funny story (sorry, no cite) about a warden in Texas who got a phone call from an irate mother who was upset that her son’s cell had poor cell phone reception. She wanted him moved so that he could use his cell (ha-a pun!) more conveniently. I don’t think she got the result she was looking for. > > I have also read that companies are working hard to develop effective tracking systems so that the phones can actually be located based on their transmissions and maybe even jammed. Turns out this is not a technically easy thing to do. Especially since the guards all have cells and use them a lot. Separating the “legal” from the illegal transmissions is tough. Story referenced. [Inmates Smuggle In Cell Phones with Ease : NPR](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6248833) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/14 "2009-05-06T19:28:30Z")
It depends on the prison. from my experience, in some minimum security prisons in the UK, prisoners are allowed a pre paid cellphone, with a certain amount of credit per month. This was a pilot scheme and I would not be surprised if it has been dropped. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/15 "2009-05-06T22:11:25Z")
Is there a reason not to enclose each cell block in a Faraday cage? Obviously, this would cost money, especially as a retrofit, but do new jails do this? It seems like it would be vastly simpler than trying to keep cell phones out of inmates’ hands (although, I guess if you’re trying to keep other stuff out, it’s less of an issue to add cell phones to the list). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/16 "2009-05-06T23:12:04Z")
[QUOTE=runcible spoon;] Is there a reason not to enclose each cell block in a Faraday cage? [/QUOTE] That’s hard enough to do in new construction to be essentially impossible as a retrofit. Prisons tend to be some variation of pre-cast concrete panels or blocks with a steel frame - not much opportunity to install shielding and protect it from damage - it’ll either be on the outside of the building, exposed to weather, or on the inside, and subject to abuse and tampering by the occupants. And then, there’s still the issue of needing to allow legitimate radio traffic for the staff. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/17 "2009-05-06T23:28:27Z")
[You can sneak them in via RC helicopter too.](http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/01/rc_helicopter_used_to_smuggle_contraband_into_prison-2.html) FWIW, the FCC bans use of cell phone jammers that are common in Europe and Asia. A r[ecent attempt to put in jammers](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/fcc-nixes-dc-prison-cell-phone-jamming-demo.ars) met with resistance from the FCC. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/18 "2009-05-07T00:06:37Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > While that’s true, allowing cell phones in is not the answer. At least not in medium and maximum-security institutions. Too many ways they can be used to compromise security, like notifying one’s friends that one is being taken out for a hospital visit, and that it would be a good opportunity to spring him. The answer is to have pay phones with reasonably priced collect service, comparable to the outside world, or pre-paid calling cards controlled by the guards. The normal controls over phone usage will continue to work as they always have. But penalizing the family on the outside is unfair and punitive. The phone companies have gotten away with this because the victims are generally poor and powerless. I didn’t say letting prisoners have cells is the answer, I said I can understand the urge to sneak one in. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/19 "2009-05-07T02:16:54Z")
> [@](#): > > The answer is to have pay phones with reasonably priced collect service, comparable to the outside world, or pre-paid calling cards controlled by the guards. The normal controls over phone usage will continue to work as they always have. But penalizing the family on the outside is unfair and punitive. The phone companies have gotten away with this because the victims are generally poor and powerless. Our phone system is open to competitive bidding from private companies as directed by law. If companies don’t want to offer lower prices how are we supposed to make them do it? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525/20 "2009-05-07T05:11:04Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > That’s hard enough to do in new construction to be essentially impossible as a retrofit. Prisons tend to be some variation of pre-cast concrete panels or blocks with a steel frame - not much opportunity to install shielding and protect it from damage - it’ll either be on the outside of the building, exposed to weather, or on the inside, and subject to abuse and tampering by the occupants. But how does all that steel not block reception in and of itself? I’ve always heard the reason you can’t get reception in Wal-mart is the metal in the ceilings, so is that placement blocking reception or sheer metal mass? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-jail/495525.md?page=2)