COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Federal officials this week oversaw the examination at a South Carolina jail of a cellphone token jamming technique that some wish will assist battle the threaten posed by inmates with smuggled cellphones, officials told The Associated Press.
The examination took site at the type of five days at a housing unit at broad brook Correctional Institution, a maximum-security jail at Columbia, South Carolina, according ought department of honesty officials. Assistant attorney commonplace Beth Williams told AP it's the first time federal officials gorge collaborated with officials at a status jail because such a test.
Officials did no free the results of the test, which will exist included at a afterward explain ought exist done by the National Telecommunications and news Administration.
The examination marks further at the state-level quest ought stamp out contraband cellphone use, which officials gorge expect said represents the sumit security threaten within their institutions. Micro-jamming technique was tested last year at a federal jail - where officials said they were capable ought shut down phone signals inner a jail cell, cottage devices approximately 20 feet (6 meters) away worked normally - besides a decades-old regulation says status or local agencies don't gorge the authority ought press the public airwaves.
South Carolina Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, who because years has spoken out at the dangers posed by the devices smuggled into institutions by the thousands, told AP he was recently deputized because a particular representative U.S. Marshal, hence giving him the federal condition needed ought accompany the jamming test.
"I'm identical encouraged by what we witnessed at broad brook this week," Stirling told AP at Friday, adding that he's optimistic approximately federal legislation, introduced last month, that used to confer status jail officials the genius ought press signals.
In 2008, South Carolina officials received a waiver from the Federal Communications committee ought accompany a jamming examination at a different maximum-security prison, at a parade because media and other officials besides no at a jail dorm.
Stirling and other status jail directors utilize other measures - alike perimeter netting, monitoring by drone, and scanners - ought find cellphones besides attorney a jamming technique that used to shut down entire signals because the best feasible defense.
In 2017, Stirling testified at a FCC hearing at Washington alongside Robert Johnson, a prior South Carolina corrections officer approximately killed at 2010 at a conquer orchestrated by an inmate using an illegal phone.
Also that year, an inmate escaped from a maximum-security jail at South Carolina, thanks at isolate ought a smuggled cellphone. at 2018, seven inmates at a maximum-security South Carolina jail were killed at what officials gorge said was a gang warfare at territory and contraband including cellphones.
The FCC has shown willingness ought career at the issue, holding a territory 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 gorge technological options ought assist them battle the smuggled devices.
"It is identical difficult ought create sure that no contraband gets in," Williams told AP. "We attempt because difficult because we can, besides it's indeed difficult ought destroy everything."
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Meg Kinnard can exist reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
