Word: celling
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...many prisons, cell phones have become as valuable as drugs, if not more so. In a recent sting operation in Texas, an undercover officer was offered $200 by a prisoner for a cell phone and only $50 for heroin. California officials say inmates currently fork over between $100 and $400 to obtain a smuggled cell phone. It's easy to understand why cell phones command such a premium. Unlike the one-time sale of drugs, an inmate can rent out the same phone dozens of times to fellow inmates...
...Inmates sometimes use cell phones to keep in touch with friends and family on the outside - collect calls made from inside prison facilities are notoriously expensive. But officials say inevitably cell phones are also being used to orchestrate crimes, harass witnesses, organize retaliation against other inmates and even order hits. A Baltimore man is accused of using a cell phone from prison to order an accomplice to murder a witness. (In March, the accused man's cell was raided and guards found another phone...
...Prisoners plotting escapes have found that a cell phone can be just as valuable as a pair of bolt cutters. "I had an inmate escape from one of my prisons just this week, and guess what he used to get his ride - a cell phone," says Richard Subia, assistant director for California's Division of Adult Institutions. "According to our investigation so far, he contacted a girlfriend by cell phone and had her pick him up in one of the local towns. We're still out searching...
...Intelligence and Information Warfare division is currently hawking a system called Cell Hound that detects all active cell phones within a prison facility and then displays the location on a computer monitor. The monitoring device can also be used to gather intelligence on other illegal activity among inmates. Last month, a Maryland investigation that included wiretaps on prison cell phones resulted in drug and weapons charges for two dozen people, including four state prison officers...
...many prison officials believe the only surefire way to combat the problem is to jam cell-phone signals within prison walls. Yet any jammer for the slammer would run afoul of the Communications Act of 1934, which prohibits intentional interference with radio signals. Brady's proposed bill (and a companion bill in the Senate) would amend the act to permit targeted interference of mobile-phone service within prisons, while ensuring that emergency calls or other commercial signals near the prison aren't affected. Brady says he hopes Congress will pass the bill by the end of the year...