COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Federal officials this week oversaw the experiment at a South Carolina jail of a cellphone symbol jamming technique that some desire will assist fight the danger posed by inmates with smuggled cellphones, officials told The Associated Press.
The experiment took lay at the classification of five days at a housing unit at broad river Correctional Institution, a maximum-security jail at Columbia, South Carolina, according ought department of integrity officials. Assistant attorney ordinary Beth Williams told AP it's the first time federal officials consume collaborated with officials at a post jail because such a test.
Officials did no free the results of the test, which will exist included at a afterward interpret ought exist done by the National Telecommunications and news Administration.
The experiment marks further above the state-level quest ought stamp out contraband cellphone use, which officials consume expectation said represents the climax security danger within their institutions. Micro-jamming technique was tested final year at a federal jail - where officials said they were capable ought shut down phone signals inside a jail cell, nevertheless devices approximately 20 feet (6 meters) away worked normally - besides a decades-old principle says post or local agencies don't consume the authority ought jam the public airwaves.
South Carolina Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, who because years has spoken out above the dangers posed by the devices smuggled into institutions by the thousands, told AP he was recently deputized because a special delegate U.S. Marshal, consequently giving him the federal post needed ought direct the jamming test.
"I'm identical encouraged by what we witnessed at broad river this week," Stirling told AP above Friday, adding that he's optimistic approximately federal legislation, introduced final month, that used to harmony post jail officials the ability ought jam signals.
In 2008, South Carolina officials received a waiver from the Federal Communications committee ought direct a jamming experiment at a different maximum-security prison, at a parade because media and other officials besides no at a jail dorm.
Stirling and other post jail directors employ other measures - alike perimeter netting, monitoring by drone, and scanners - ought find cellphones besides attorney a jamming technique that used to shut down sum signals because the best possible defense.
In 2017, Stirling testified at a FCC hearing at Washington alongside Robert Johnson, a previous South Carolina corrections officer almost killed at 2010 at a strike orchestrated by an inmate using an illegal phone.
Also that year, an inmate escaped from a maximum-security jail at South Carolina, thanks at separate ought a smuggled cellphone. at 2018, seven inmates at a maximum-security South Carolina jail were killed at what officials consume said was a group war at domain and contraband including cellphones.
The FCC has shown willingness ought trade above the issue, holding a domain hearing at South Carolina and hosting meetings with members of Congress, prisons officials and stakeholders from the wireless industry.
On Friday, Williams said officials are working ought assure prisons consume technological options ought assist them fight the smuggled devices.
"It is identical difficult ought catalog sure that no contraband gets in," Williams told AP. "We attempt because difficult because we can, besides it's truly difficult ought burst everything."
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Meg Kinnard can exist reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
