Prisoners Smuggle Cell Phones to Call Home

Inmates have found something new to smuggle. They've managed to find a way to step outside the prison walls and sneak in cell phones to call their family and friends. The Houston Chronicle shows that on average, a phone costs between $200-$400 in a Texas prison, but if you are on death row the price takes a significant rise, costing $2,000+.

John Moriarty, general inspector of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, reported that "cell phones were just about the hottest commodity in prisons," and the Associated Press reports that prisoners barter minutes like cash, using them just like a credit card to get what they're after. Presently, Moriarty is faced with 743 Texas cases involving cell phones, but they are all relatively small. So far, no one has been killed for a phone, or has had to kill to receive one, but he has discovered a variety of drug transactions made to receive them. He has heard of agressive activity outside of the prison in several criminal cases, with inmates using cell phones to run gangs, organize drug operations, and in one case" trade gold bullion on international markets."

NPR reports that John Moriarity received a call from a concerned mother. She was calling to complain that her son was getting poor cell phone reception. "She was paying for the service" and it was only fair that they be able to actively communicate. "That cell phone company assured her it was within the coverage area" so, why was she having trouble? Needless to say, not only was she having "trouble", she soon wasn't talking to her son at all.

The Houston Chronicle shows that inmates have gotten creative in their efforts to smuggle the cell phones in. With strengthened security, metal detectors, and sly inmates, how do you slip something in? Visitors have been caught with phones hidden in the heels of their shoes, and some even got past the guards only to fumble when they were supposed to "hide" the phone in the trashcan. Moriarty said, "Last year, an inmate was discovered to have both a cell phone and a charger in his rectum." Metal detectors won't sound the alarm if prisoners carry phones in their bodies, but many can't stand the pain.

NPR shows that a corrupted officer is a prisoner's best asset. They have access to everything, no metal detection is necessary, and they can come and go as they please. Djore Lutalo is serving 30 years for aggravated assault in the New Jersey State Prison, and he says prices will be expensive, but worth it, because officers will look the other way. You're not harming anyone, so what's the problem? "Former and current prison officials across the country agree" that staff are to blame because unlike cash and drugs which can easily be smuggled through the mail and inmate visits, it takes someone inside to get a phone past the metal detectors.

People are now beginning to take a second look at Texas Department of Criminal Justice, because if one of the primary suspects in cell phone smuggling is a crooked officer, something should be done. Officials now acknowledge that "only 22 of the 112 lockup have metal detectors", but The Houston Chronicle shows that not everyone has to walk through them.

In Livingston at the Allan Polunsky Unit where death row is housed, once an official receives the ranking of a major, they no longer have to walk through the metal detectors. This same idea is applied to all prisons when it comes to the usage of metal detection with wands. Wands are not used to detect all visitors or employees, and they are used only on those who draw suspicion to themselves. That is why for most officers there is no problem filtering in contraband. Everybody knows everybody, and making an accusation would be seen by numerous as betrayal. Only one officer has ever served time in Texas jail- 8 days to be exact. A vast difference from the average two to 40 years the average inmate receives.