ATLANTA — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is calling on the FCC to allow cell phone jammers inside state prisons and local jails.
“The FCC currently prohibits the use of cell phone ‘jammers,’ and that prohibition extends to state and local governments. Yet in prisons and jails throughout the country, contraband cell phones are being used to plan and orchestrate violent attacks and other criminal activity, posing a real and substantial safety risk to correctional officers, visitors, inmates, and the public at large,” a news release from Carr’s office said on Tuesday.
Channel 2 Action News has reported extensively on the issues within metro jails of inmates having cell phones, some even organizing outside crimes with them.
“This outdated guidance limits legitimate law enforcement tools, presents dangerous conditions for correctional officers, and allows for the escalation of criminal networks both inside and outside prison walls,” Carr said.
Nearly 8,100 cell phones were confiscated inside Georgia jails last years, Carr’s office said, and another nearly 5,500 just this year alone.
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“As attempts to infiltrate our facilities with contraband cell phones evolve, access to jamming technology is paramount in our efforts to combat those attempts. We appreciate the support of Attorney General Carr in our ongoing commitment to public safety and the safe operations of our facilities,” Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver said.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff entered a bill last month that would impact federal prisons, making the penalty for having contraband cell phones a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
“Without it being a felony, there aren’t serious enough consequences that would result in people potentially facing a jail sentence for doing it,” said Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Ossoff said under current law, it’s difficult even to fire a prison guard caught smuggling contraband. He said changing this to a felony would fix that.
“The Bureau of Prisons was unable to crack down on the flow of contraband in and out of federal prison facilities because smuggling contraband in and out, is just a misdemeanor in the federal criminal code. Unbelievable,” Ossoff said.
A report from the Inspector General earlier this year found the Atlanta facility had more non-natural deaths behind bars between 2014 and 2021 than any other federal prison. Seventeen inmates have died here in Atlanta.
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