# How Do They Get Cell Phones Into Prison? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631 "2011-11-21T11:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [November 22, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/21 "2011-11-22T04:24:02Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > See \*\*The Shawshank Redemtion \*\*for how this works. > > Prisoners have networks. They will have relationships with people who are prison suppliers. They pay them for the stuff and get it smuggled in with the regular deliveries. Sometimes a guard is bribed to look the other way when this is happening. > > Most of the receiving\stocking are regular jobs done by inmates. > > You can get just about anything in prison if you are willing\able to pay. Thanks for the suggestion, but I really don’t need to watch _The Shawshank Redemption_ for insights on how prisons work. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/22 "2011-11-22T05:24:22Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Visitors are another common source of cell phones getting into inmate hands, smuggling in phones rectally or vaginally, or inside baby’s diapers, inside prosthetic limbs, **inside surgically created or modified orifices** , etc. Umm.. Are we talking stomas that have been co-opted? Or ‘orifices’ intentionally created for smuggling contraband? > [@MannyL](#): > > The FCC does not allow jamming of Cell phones in the US. Every year or so I hear about requests for exceptions for prisons and other restricted areas. I understand it would be problematic to set up a jamming system that wouldn’t significantly impact an area surrounding the facility. I’d like to see some of the feasibility studies though. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/23 "2011-11-22T06:04:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > We don’t use cell phones in prison (we use walkie-talkies). Cell phones are serious contraband (at least in NY where I worked). It’s one of the few things that will get you automatically fired. That’s surprising/interesting. Why is it a serious offense for a staffer to have one, besides fear that they’ll give it to a prisoner? (I mean, the guards carry weapons too but they aren’t afraid that they’ll hand _those_ over to prisoners, are they?) ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/24 "2011-11-22T07:38:14Z")
No, actually, they don’t carry weapons in most prisons, because they are afraid the prisoners will end up with them (not that they’ll hand them over voluntarily, of course). Weapons are restricted to perimeter patrol, guard towers, and other areas where prisoners can’t go. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/25 "2011-11-22T08:28:42Z")
Well, do faraday cages count as “jamming” signals? They merely block signals going into and out of the area they cover. If cell phones aren’t allowed for anyone, I don’t see how those would be a problem for covering a prison. I just looked up copper mesh wire, and it looks like to cover a 1200’x1200’ area would cost about $30,000 for the number of rolls it would take. Of course that’s just the one raw material, and the mesh would have to be covered to protect it, add in contractors and some sheet-rock and roofing cover, it seems it could be done for, what, $50,000 or so? Seems like a bargain to me if it works, even at twice that number if I’m really far off. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/26 "2011-11-22T17:02:35Z")
You may want to recheck your math. This [website](http://www.twpinc.com/wire-mesh/TWPCAT_3) has the cheapest price for copper mesh at $4.22/sq ft. For a 1200 x 1200 area, you’d need 1.4 million square ft, at a cost of 6 million dollars. That doesn’t count things like doors as well - Faraday cage doors are a pain in the ass to maintain. Plus it will block TV & radio signals, which as I understand it are popular for prisoners, and taking them away will make the guards job much harder. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/27 "2011-11-22T17:24:35Z")
Heh. “Cell phones.” Carry on… ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/28 "2011-11-22T18:37:03Z")
There other methods besides crude jamming that can make a cell phone inoperable, and it can be done at an incredibly local level. This is why I wonder why it is not done. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/29 "2011-11-24T13:14:04Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > You may want to recheck your math. This [website](http://www.twpinc.com/wire-mesh/TWPCAT_3) has the cheapest price for copper mesh at $4.22/sq ft. For a 1200 x 1200 area, you’d need 1.4 million square ft, at a cost of 6 million dollars. And I gave Attica as just an example. New York has about seventy prisons, each of which would require its own multi-million dollar cage. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/30 "2011-11-24T14:12:30Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Heh. “Cell phones.” > > Carry on.. It took 27 posts! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/31 "2011-11-24T17:32:46Z")
Yeesh. I really shouldn’t attempt something I’m so bad at under good conditions, when the hours are wee and im tired. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631/32 "2011-11-24T18:26:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And I gave Attica as just an example. New York has about seventy prisons, each of which would require its own multi-million dollar cage. Yeah, but how much does it cost to build, maintain and RUN those prisons. Sure millions of dollars sounds like a big deal, but if its a small fraction of the budget it isnt (assuming keeping cell phones from working is a worthy goal). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-cell-phones-into-prison/603631.md?page=1)