Jam cell phones in prisons

Cell phones have become a major security threat to state prisons, and efforts to remove the contraband haven't been successful. Federal officials should allow the S.C. Corrections Department the necessary latitude to jam cell-phone signals within the prison walls.

State prisons chief Jon Ozmint blames contraband cell phones for enabling most escapes from South Carolina prisons. Phones also are used to commit serious crimes by those who remain in prison.

Last summer, for example, a Baltimore resident was gunned down outside his home after a shooting suspect he had identified ordered a hit on him from behind bars, authorities say.

In Texas, prison officials arrested the mother of a death row inmate on charges she paid for minutes on a cell phone that had been smuggled to her condemned son. Authorities said the inmate shared the phone with nine other inmates and called a state senator to say he knew the lawmaker's daughters' names.

The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates air waves, can grant federal agencies the authority to use jammers to prevent cell tower signals from ever reaching a phone. But there's no such provision for state and local law enforcement. The Corrections Department has filed a formal request for such authority, and FCC officials have indicated they are open to the concept.

At a recent demonstration of the technology at Lieber Correctional Institution, people with cell phones were seated in a visitors' room. All but one phone was rendered unusable by the jammer, and CellAntenna indicated only a tweak was needed to block the last one, too. Phones just outside of the room were not affected.

Critics say it's impossible to contain the jamming technology to one or two buildings and that using it might affect phones nearby. The Department of Corrections acknowledges it will be a challenge to jam calls from prisons' outdoor spaces without impacting off-property phones, but CellAntenna is confident it can do so. Mr. Ozmint's request to the FCC welcomes a provision requiring the jammer not interfere with calls off property.

The FCC should allow the state to test jamming cell phone signals at its prisons, and the state should work to make sure legitimate phone use is not affected. Figuring out how to disable contraband phones in prisons could advance public safety nationwide.