Local Police Want To Jam Wireless Signals 317
The Washington Post is reporting on the growing pressure from state and local law enforcement agencies for permission to jam wireless signals the way the Secret Service and the FBI can. Officials especially want to be able to drop a no-call blanket over local prisons around the country from time to time. "...jamming remains strictly illegal for state and local agencies. Federal officials barely acknowledge that they use it inside the United States, and the few federal agencies that can jam signals usually must seek a legal waiver first. The quest to expand the technology has invigorated a debate about how widely jamming should be allowed and whether its value as a common crime-fighting strategy outweighs its downsides, including restricting the constant access to the airwaves that Americans have come to expect. ... Critics warn of another potential problem, 'friendly fire,' when one agency inadvertently jams another's access to the airwaves, posing a safety hazard in an emergency. [CTIA spokesman Joe] Farren said there are 'smarter, better and safer alternatives,' such as stopping inmates from getting smuggled cellphones in the first place or pinpointing signals from unauthorized callers."
This will come up (Score:5, Interesting)
Question: How the hell do you smuggle a cell phone into prison?
Answer: You don't. You bribe/threaten a guard.
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Insightful)
Even small amounts of dope or a cell phone is worth hundreds of dollars in the 'joint(typically a fourfold increase). Good dope dealers can make thousands a week from the inside.
So why does so much taxpayer money go towards a poverty industrial complex which isn't even doing its job? Typical bright idea from lawmakers: "Hey, lets solve the problem by just hiding it from everybody else!"
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Insightful)
By the way what does "poverty industrial complex" mean?
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Interesting)
Say you invent a magical contriband detector that always sees any item you want on a person. All it takes is to bribe the person operating the machine, and it becomes useless. Make a machine that's totally automated and decides for itself, and you're getting dangerously close to Skynet.
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Insightful)
It is simple to set up a cell inside a prison that cellphones will connect to, which will then ID all calls, the details of the phone, and with a little RDF even its approximate location.
So it would be quite simple to clear dis-allowed cellphones from inside a prison, of course they dont - this should give you some idea of the scale of the problems in the prison system.
Why not make it the law that all non-registered cellphones using the prinsons cell site coverage are automatically logged (phone details AND voice recorded..) - surely that would make the value of the phones almost nothing.
Of course again, there goes a big source of lets call it 'power' from the bad prison associates, so it will not happen.
Its not just the men locking doors and doing searches who can be corrupt, in fact I would suggest its not even mainly them..
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Insightful)
Your idea is excellent, which is why prison officials have probably not thought of it.
The techno-igorant reflex is to "turn things off" rather than "think of creative ways to change the situation".
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
How could a Faraday cage be easier?
Cell sites as they are right now can triangulate a cell signal. That's required by federal law for 911 calls made on a cell phone. It's the enhanced E911 calling rules enforced by the FCC. I think right now in their current phase location information has to be accurate to 50-300 meters. Of course that is not precise enough to locate it within a prison system, but the technology to do this already exists. By 2012, the location information has to be *more* precise.
Creati
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Interesting)
I think it's kinda funny that we naively go about our business believing that the prison systems cannot afford to implement things like cell phone honeypots or jamming devices locally when they are obviously not as poor as we think. Let's take this recent example of a prison system that spent 77,000 dollars to update the prison with 117 brand new flat screen [bostonherald.com] high definition televisions for their inmates.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Why not make it the law that all non-registered cellphones using the prinsons cell site coverage are automatically logged (phone details AND voice recorded..) - surely that would make the value of the phones almost nothing.
Wrong. Most prisoners couldn't care less if their calls are being monitored. The reason cell phones are valuable to prisoners and the reason the prison administration doesn't want them used is that use of the standard prison phone is a HUGE source of revenue for the prisons, as all calls are collect, calling card numbers (often all 800 numbers) are typically blocked, and the prison's carrier often charges more than 10 times standard rates. There are companies that cater especially to hospitals and prison
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Informative)
You don't really "give up" your rights per say -- you typically give up your "right" to employment if you break the agreement that you made with your employer.
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Insightful)
Cellular phones don't last forever. Most prisons don't allow prisoners to have electrical appliances in their cells. Remove all electrical outlets inside the cells and let the cell phones die after a few hours of use.
It won't stop new ones from coming in, but it would damn sure have to increase the flow enough to cause a few more ripples.
Re: (Score:2)
I think he was agreeing. And if you don't think prison labor is a huge industry, well, it is.
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Insightful)
If you think that you are not a criminal, it is for one of three reasons:
1 - You are a criminal and you know it, but you haven't been caught yet, so you haven't been publicly labeled as such or
2 - You are ignorant of laws that criminalize things you do (and there are oh so many laws) or
3 - They haven't passed a law against what you enjoy doing yet.
There are libraries, Neo, endless libraries to hold all of our laws. We, as private citizens, are overrun with laws that examine our personal lives and behavior and make criminals of us all. All the State need do is to shine their spotlight on your life and soon enough you too will find yourself a "criminal".
So you might not want to be so quick to suggest capital punishment for all of those who run afoul of the government. Just sayin.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
"Give me six lines written by the most honest of men, and I will find something in them which will hang him."
Cardinal Richelieu
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So why does so much taxpayer money go towards a poverty industrial complex which isn't even doing its job?
I think that's being just a little disingenuous. You could just as easily say "Crimes go unsolved and criminal unpunished. Why does so much taxpayer money go towards police departments which aren't doing their jobs?" or similarly, "People break laws all the time with no consequences. Why does so much taxpayer money go towards enforcing and creating laws which aren't doing their jobs?".
Just because som
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Insightful)
Just because something doesn't work all the time for all the people doesn't mean it isn't worth the investment or that it should be dismissed outright. The fact is that while the law enforcement/prison system may not be perfect, it is preventing some people from committing additional unlawful acts. When you're talking about crimes such as theft, rape, murder, etc., that is a significant and worthy cause.
The prison system is a complete failure. The guards make insane amounts of money as do the companies that get contracted to perform services such as food and laundry. This leads to corruption on many levels all the way up to the lawmakers who pass ridiculous laws in order to keep the prisons full. The prison guards have a very powerful lobby in CA that was instrumental in stopping Proposition 5 which would have reduced prison populations dramatically and saved billions in tax dollars.
There is nothing worthy about this system. The majority of prisoners are non-violent offenders, mostly drug offenses that should be treated as a medical issue rather than a criminal one. A simple Google search will give you all the information you need to know about Prison Inc.
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Informative)
I wonder:
Median annual earnings of correctional officers and jailers were $35,760 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $28,320 and $46,500. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,600, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $58,580. Median annual earnings in the public sector were $47,750 in the Federal Government, $36,140 in State government, and $34,820 in local government. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the starting salary for Federal correctional officers was $28,862 a year in 2007. Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009: Correctional Officers [bls.gov]
"They're hiring 18-year-olds two months out of high school. "We've got officers who are 70 years old, senior citizens. That's a security risk." Physical fitness standards have been lowered, with overweight, out-of-shape correctional officers in the system. Many Texans support keeping prisons as inhospitable as possible because they're supposed to be about punishment, but those same poor conditions (think double shifts with no air conditioning in the Texas summer heat) combine with low pay to make it nearly impossible to staff current prisons in their existing, mostly rural locations. Texas prison guard salary ranks 47th among states [blogspot.com] [Apr 7, 2008]
Trinity Services Group is the second food services company to tell the Department of Corrections it can't afford to keep feeding prisoners. The company said it's losing $100,000 a month on its contract to feed inmates in the north-central part of the state and at three prisons in South Florida. The company, which was paid $21-million last fiscal year, said it's losing money because food and fuel costs are rising at the rate of 9 percent, far in excess of the 2 percent inflation cushion allowed in its state contract. Trinity is paid 88 cents for every meal served. Oldsmar company opts out of prison food service [tampabay.com] [Sept 19, 2008]
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Interesting)
Corporations are simple amoral engines of greed, their priority is to charge as much as possible while spending the least amount possible, hence locking up convicted inmates in the cheapest way possible that they are legally able to get away with. So low cost guards basically low IQ thugs in uniform who often derive perverted sexual fulfilment from abusing people, rather then properly trained correctional (note the term) services officers, which of course would 'cost' a corporation two to three times as much, where as of course repeat offenders only cost the public ten to one hundred times that in damages, pain and suffering, so corporate profits first the publics interest last and keep those returning profits from repeat offenders coming in.
The reality is that a prison should in fact be the most law abiding place in society, otherwise the supervision and rehabilitation is demonstrated to be a total failure. Rather than blocking transmissions that should be tracking them to find the contraband then pursuing the trail of evidence to apprehend all those involved and of course turn the smuggling prison guard into an inmate and demonstrate the effectiveness of law enforcing institution and it's staff. Jamming the signals, the cheap solution which is basically giving up on enforcing law within in prison.
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Insightful)
The accessibility of drugs and other contraband in jail kind of shines a spotlight on the stupidity of the war on drugs. I mean if the government can't even come close to keeping drugs out of a place where people have no freedom at all, why do they think they can do it in a supposedly free country?
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Informative)
The war on drugs is far from being pointless, worthless, or created with a lack of intelligence. It's only that you are under the delusion (which is simply a result of rampant propaganda) that the purpose of the war is to benefit our society.
The prison industry is worth billions to private parties, the control that government gets to exert in the name of the war is impossibly enticing, and the ability to confiscate property involved with drugs is profitable to the right people.
Re:This will come up (Score:4, Insightful)
The war on drugs is stupid. Thanks for assuming I'm an idiot, but I am aware that a lot of people from law enforcement to drug cartels profit immensely from the status quo. I don't care. Having a corrupt system doesn't mean the resulting bad policies are any less stupid.
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Interesting)
While there is more corruption in prison than anyone would like to admit, all the compact technology in a cell phone is tremendous, and it keeps getting smaller and easier to smuggle.
Also, most prisons are criminally understaffed. It is far easier to bribe a guard when there are less eyes on the prisoners and less colleagues who are keeping an eye on other staff as well (although I note the administrative ranks seem to be swelling).
Jammers make the most amount of sense on a per cost basis, but the underlying problems in prisons remains.*
*Works in a prison.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:This will come up (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
In Pulp Fiction... he hid that cell phone up his ass for TWO YEARS from the Vietcong.
His watch.
Re: (Score:2)
I also wouldn't look forward to the "what's that smell" conversations...
dumb. (Score:2)
Wouldn't it make a *lot* more sense to just make a deal with the cell phone companies to fail to route non-emergency calls?
Re:dumb. (Score:5, Interesting)
Distilling your idea: Setup cell phone towers in prisons. The phones will connect to these towers since they are the strongest. Make these towers "dead" cells".
I guess as long as you set them up inside the prison blocks of solid concrete walls and steel it could work. *shrug*
Listen in,rather than shutting up the neighborhood (Score:5, Insightful)
Better yet, eavesdrop on these!
Catch criminals on either end of the line talking crime most of the time...
Jamming, OTOH, in any location just keeps victims or witnesses of crime from reporting it or calling for help.
Re:Listen in,rather than shutting up the neighborh (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Distilling your idea: Setup cell phone towers in prisons. The phones will connect to these towers since they are the strongest. Make these towers "dead" cells".
Maybe thats how jammers work.
and dumber (Score:2)
Wouldn't it make a *lot* more sense to just make a deal with the cell phone companies to fail to route non-emergency calls?
And block all phone use by guards, prison management, and visitors?
Real clever. Remember, the article is talking about spot blocks that would be done on a temporary basis, not a permanent ban on communications.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
And block all phone use by guards, prison management, and visitors?
All CELLphone use. The guards, management and visitors would still have access to the land lines.
Same point (Score:2)
All CELLphone use. The guards, management and visitors would still have access to the land lines.
What good does that do? It wastes state money having to have more land lines to accommodate more people. It blocks things that are commonplace now like texting, that once people grow used to using is a real drawback to be without because people will expect it to work for you. It also doesn't help people that are nearby, but not in, the prison - like people driving by.
Again, it's simply a bad idea to lock down
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
First, cell phone tower antennas can be made highly directional, providing coverage over a small arc. It would be a Small Matter Of Engineering to design a series of antennas that would effectively cover a prison and not the surrounding area or even the parking lot.
Extending the idea of directionality further, cell towers today can already provide the location of the phones being used to within a few hundred yards. It should technically be possible to obtain the cooperation of the local cell providers
Re: (Score:2)
Right, because in your magical world jails have multiple fall over systems for comms that can't be knocked out by fire or other inmates. Unfortunately in the real world jails just aren't built that way. Hell, our local low risk jail doesn't have a sprinkler system and was damn lucky not to burn down.
http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090127/NEWS08/901270322 [tylerpaper.com]
The problem with ideas like this jamming is they not only block criminals, who by definition are going to find a way to break the law as
Re: (Score:2)
Here in Mexico City criminals work inside prison. They get smuggled cellphones and do their threaten calls/intelligence operations. Safetey measures such as jamming cellphone signals inside prison have been proposed - unfortunately their implementation is at the local (corrupt) government's will.
Re: (Score:2)
911 is not the only emergency number that goes through. And it certainly isn't the only one that *could* go through. The cell companies, I'm sure, would be all too happy to accommodate the prisons' needs.
Certainly the prison control center and all of the local police would be on the allow list. Lawyers and other visitors could probably have their phones put on a temporary "don't block" list, as well.
The article's suggestion of jamming the cell phones' RF emissions would be far more limiting to guards and
Re: (Score:2)
Assuming that all Cell phone companies would agree to limiting calls like that, how do you suggest they distinguish between calls made at the prisons or whatever place verses calls made 200 feet from it or from people who otherwise have legitimate reasons to make a call?
I can see where spot jamming might be wanted. Something like a bomb scare where you wouldn't want the possibility of remote triggering to happen. Or maybe in a prison riot situation where contact to the outside could escalate the situation a
....How about no? (Score:5, Insightful)
How can a local entity possibly have the technical expertise and know how to operate any kind of jamming equipment safely? There's a reason they are illegal for the public and even rarely used in the fed government: They are freaking dangerous and jarring to law-abiding citizens.
Am I wrong?
Re: (Score:2)
What danger is there? Doesn't the jammer just mess with the frequencies used by cell phones?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Jamming cell phones at certain facilities should be allowed, such as in prisons, but using cell jamming technology on the block is chalked full of potential pit falls.
I've dont some consulting with law enforcement and the application of technology in tactical situations, and the bottom line greatest problem with jamming cell phones is that it is a dead ringer that something is about to happen. In a tactical situation, anything that gives the target a reason to raise suspicion, dramatically enhances their re
Re: (Score:2)
What makes you think that the federal government is any more trustworthy than a local government?
Neither should have neither the authority nor the means to do anything that a private citizen can't do - they are only acting on our behalf, right?
Re: (Score:2)
Rarely used?
You really need to catch up on how many localities jam GPS coverage, often for a few city blocks..
Hint: Not all poor GPS reception in cities is because of building geometry/coverage...
Its considered a 'security risk' on the theory that packed bombs could be GPS detonated in the right location (and not allowing for the fact that all they have to do it get some moron to push a button at the right time instead.)
Re: (Score:2)
What makes you like that federal authorities are any more responsible or trustworthy than local?
No level of government should have the authority or the means to do anything to its citizens that the citizens can't or shouldn't be able to do as well. Governments are just people like you and I who are acting our our behalf. If I can't do it, the government shouldn't do it.
Suure... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Outstanding point, Good Citizen darkitecture.
It reminds me of those white-collar workers within the Twin Towers on 9/11/01, who dailed 911, only to be told by some witless 911 operator or other to remain in their building which had just been struck by an airliner.
Reminded me of that airhead I once knew who had been hired to be a 911 in NYC, even though her husband was a fugitive from the law and had an outstanding warrent on him.
Unbeleivable, but to be believed during these present times of ultimate lawless
Re: (Score:2)
...from inside a prison, on a cell phone they're not supposed to have? Hmm...
Re:Suure... (Score:5, Insightful)
Ok, I'm actually destroying previous mods to post this, but I think your comment warrants it.
Jamming (any type, really), is a very inexact practice. It is almost impossible to effectively jam a single area without affecting the surrounding area. Contrary to popular belief, prisons are not all situated in the middle of a desert (though they probably should be). Many of them are quite close to towns, parks, camp sites,etc. I have personally been on group camping trips (200+ people) within 3 blocks of a prison. If someone had a emergency while driving past the prison on their way to the camp, they would not be able to call 911.
I just want to make sure that you understand that jamming a prison, and only that prison is actually a lot harder than you may think.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
What you'd do is set up a picocell network inside the prison. The actual cells are about the size of a large wireless AP with a range of a few tens of metres. These are wired up to a controller that handles all the phone switching, cell handoff and so on, which could be set up to only allow calls from a small number of locally-registered phones (registered with that BSC).
"Ah but what about people outside? Good luck with that, you'll need it when I sue you because I couldn't phone an ambulance for my scra
Prison no-call blanket (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it would be better to circle a prison with micro-cells and intercept all cell phone transmissions, and only allow through nominated numbers. This could also have the effect of being able to triangulate the position of illegitimate phones when they are used.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It'd be better to just sit up dumb antennae (3) that detect the phone's signal (I believe their are only a couple frequencies used by cellphones) and locates it so the guards can go confiscate/discipline the innmate.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If you can triangulate, you can simply ignore anything outside the prison, and only check the authorization status for the phones inside it.
Re: (Score:2)
I would love to hear this "Please wait while we triangulate your position so we can determine whether or not to block your call and confiscate your phone."
Re: (Score:2)
Isn't triangulation a very simple and quick thing? 3 towers ping the phone, report data to a central server. The ping time corresponds to the distance from the tower (assuming no data loss). Distance should be trivial to calculate. Draw a circle around each tower (with location precisely known) with a radius corresponding to the distance the phone's at, and the phone will be in the place where all 3 intersect.
I'd be surprised if the whole thing took more than a second.
Even in the case it for some reason tak
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You can probably still tell that it's somewhere on the inside and not the outside though. And narrow it down enough to only have to check a small area.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
...and anything on the other side of the prison!
Unless you plan on mounting said antenna 500 feet above the prison...
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed completely. It would be easy to implement what you say. Standard micro-cells won't do triangulation, they have to have special ones, but this would be possible, and if the use them in enough places, affordable.
Of course, this wouldn't be legal for them to do without FCC permission either. But at least it would work better.
I once stayed in a hotel where WiFi access was free in the lobby but nowhere else. My balcony had a view of the lobby, and I could pick up the lobby Wi-Fi bases from the balcony, bu
I want one too! (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:I want one too! (Score:5, Interesting)
The funny thing about this is that however many geeks there are that think it'd be fun to set up a jammer there's as many geeks out there who'd like nothing more than to track them down. I can see amateur radio operators having a field day (pun intended) hunting them down and helping the FCC hand out fines. No doubt crushing fines both because of the implications for emergency handling and because it's a strike against the telecoms. Tracking down cell phone jammers could become a major sport for radio operators if they become more common.
And Here is the Problem in a Nutshell (Score:2, Insightful)
Freedom for you, but not for me I guess. Parents with kids out on a date night that want to get a text message if something goes wrong. Professionals on call won't ever be able to see a movie or go to the theater.
You sir are part of the problem. Sorry for the harsh tone, but the hypocrisy over rights on the internet is just staggering.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
While I happen to agree. That same kid is more likely testing and talking to their friends instead of their parents. They are the ones who talk in theaters.
However neither should be in theaters. As it would be a good place to take hostages or trap people.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
No more uploading those police butality photos (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
A transparent prison system.. ya, that'll happen.
I'm angry with myself for reading this article (Score:2, Funny)
I missed a commercial!
Can you blame them? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously [liveleak.com], it's [youtube.com] for [youtube.com] the [youtube.com] the [youtube.com] public [youtube.com] good [youtube.com]. You don't want people to be able to upload the videos before their phones are stolen...
Faraday cage? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wouldn't something like conductive paint or mesh/window films be more effective? Prevent RF from entering or leaving, and the problem is solved passively.
Re: (Score:2)
Prisons are big, and I would guess that the materials and paint that would work would be pretty expensive.
There is also undoubtedly a lot of restrictions on what you can construct one out of to prevent prisoners from breaking pieces off and stabbing each other with them. Installation at least would be a major hassle, there's probably some type of security clearance construction workers working on active prisons have to have, and this would be a major job. And probably there would be at least one tinfoil h
Re:Faraday cage? (Score:4, Informative)
Ok, a few things to say here, so bear with me...
Prisons are big, and I would guess that the materials and paint that would work would be pretty expensive.
First of all, the summary doesn't say "prisons", they probably want to use this for SWAT situations.
I don't know, is it possible that if someone were to break a window that the cage would suddenly be useless?
My father does destructive building materials testing for a living. If there is one thing I can tell you, it's that most prisons (not all mind you), have some pretty freaking impressive windows. I've seen windows they had to hit 1000 times with 200 pound steel battering ram, and it didn't even SCRATCH it until hit number 20. Basically, if you are in prisons and want to break out, go for the wall, not the window...
This jammer could be turned on and off, giving you more flexibility, wheras a permanent cage couldn't. There are situations where you might want to allow the use of cell phones.
Again with the SWAT thing, if they want to disable phones inside a meth lab, I don't think the guys inside with AK's are going to simply sit still while you paint the house!
And, most importantly, guards do use radios and possibly other types of wireless communications. Is it possible to build a faraday cage that would ONLY block cell phone transmissions and not play havoc with the other communications?
All in all, I think this jammer would be safer, cheaper, and more effective than what you're suggesting. Just my non-expert opinion.
Sorry for the rant, half of these were specifically aimed at the GP, but I didn't want to make 2 posts. Consider half of them in favor of what you said :D
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
i'm all for it. (Score:2)
NYPD Wants to Jam Cell Phones During Terror Attack (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
So, why not give them the right to get the cellular companies to disable cell towers?
Cell towers are also quite highly directional (they carry sets of antennas) so it can even be moderately selective.
If, of course we are talking a major terrorist level of activity.
My suspicion is however that it is more wanted for day-to-day police work - not quite the same thing though, is it..
News Flash: Talking Next (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I wonder how many people were saved because someone warned them of the danger by calling/texting them.
Yeah, but what about victims calling 911? (Score:4, Insightful)
The main problem I could see with cell jamming during a terrorist or similar criminal situation is that there is a small possibility that maybe, one of the victims could be trying to secretly call 911 (or whatever the local equivalent is) to try to give police information about the situation inside the building (or vehicle, etc).
Re:Yeah, but what about victims calling 911? (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think that's a small possibility, I think it is a certainty.
Every significant terrorist attack in recent memory has seen the affected people using their cell phones to get aid and give status, whether it was people hiding in hotel rooms in Mumbai, people stuck in the WTC on 9/11 or people in subway cars in bombings in the UK and Madrid.
Turning off cell phone coverage in a emergency is just plain stupid. The bad guys will expect it and have alternate means of communication like FRS radios, so only the good guys will suffer for it.
Prisons (Score:4, Interesting)
They don't need the ability to jam cell phone signals to stop them from being used in prisons.
Prisons are controlled facilities that can be designed from the ground up to provide ways of stopping unauthorized signals.
For example, by lining cells with tin, special paint, and other materials that block certain radio frequencies.
This could be done to the entire building, and would be much more effective and safer than periodic localized jamming during an emergency.
They could even be designed so that the measures are just strong enough to prevent cell phones from working, but still allow personnel to carry radios and other equipment with higher power transmitters, that would not be significantly impacted.
Another possibility is to place monitoring apparatus in each cell, and if a prisoner uses a cell phone or other radiocommunication device, a detector will trigger an alarm identifying the specific area from which a cell phone has been used.
The method of detection still allows any cell phone that happens to be in a prison facility in event of a life-threatening emergency, as a means to summon aid.
Micro Cells (Score:4, Interesting)
Have prisons work a deal with the cellular network folks to set up some low power micro cells covering the prison facilities. All calls will be routed through the prison cell site. Legitimate users (staff) can have their phones 'whitelisted' to bypass the filtering and surveillance applications running on the base station.
Think of the intelligence the anti-gang units can accumulate by listening in on calls. Or even checking to see who is calling whom. Legitimate prisoner calls (from prison phones) are subject to monitoring, so this wouldn't be a big legal hurdle.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, I'd do it the other way.
If you survey the numbers that are used in the prison that aren't staff, you can shut them down. Let everything else pass, what way when you're driving by your call still goes through.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Prisoners have NOTHING BUT TIME. Through the slightest bit of intelligence, and sheer force of trial and error, SOMEBODY will figure out that holding a piece of aluminum foil over half the phone, while facing just the right distance, will work. And once one person figures it out, the rest will, quickly.
How often are you going to make changes, and how quickly will the prisoners adapt to them?
Problems (Score:2)
They don't really need to jam. (Score:2)
I somewhat agree jamming is a possible solution. But the prison in particular really don't need to do it. Instead, they should install micro-, nano-, or pico- cells right inside the walls of the prison. The cells need to use every available mobile (CDMA, TDMA, GSM, etc.) technology, and provide absolute five bar coverage at every point inside the fence.
A typical cell will connect to the strongest signal it can get. They only look for a backup cell when the primary signal starts to
Counter Tactics (Score:2)
1: Locate the d@mn things? It's a radio transmitter every moment it's turned on.
2: Set up legal femtocells connected to black holes? The phones connect, but they never deliver.
Wireless signal detectors (Score:2, Interesting)
Some practical problems (Score:4, Interesting)
Whether things are handled by jamming or by a micro-cell solution or some other way, there's one big problem. A lot of prisons are very close to major interstates or population centers. The main max in Texas is right next to I-35 a few hours south of Dallas, a road that carries so much traffic, you will rarely get up to the speedlimit. Colorado has a facility that, if memory serves is right off I-70.
Any solution that is sufficient to cut off all the prisoner cell phones is going to interfere with the use of cellphones nearby... like those people on that freeway next door.
The freeway next to I-35 in Texas has posted signs (no joke) warning people to not pick up hitch hikers. They existed long before four prisoners escaped a few years back. Two or three of those prisoners made it out of state. One made it about a thousand miles.
If they put in jammers, my suspicion is that the next prison break is going to involve prisoners walking up on to the freeway and using a rock to take out a windshield and a driver. I'm sure they'll say a few thanks for the cellphone jammers as they drive away and the other drivers realize they can't call 911...
FWIW, if you want to get between DFW and the other major metros in Texas, like Austin, you've got roughly two choices: I-35 and a 350-400 plod along two lane Farm to Market roads frequented by farm tractors. Talk about a looong day.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
> have one of the inmates smuggle in a jammer with the help of the warden/prison officials in exchange for access to the library or internet
Actually the private prisons have some internet access. They also use the prisoners as call center employees. I think 60 Minutes had a program on it.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
About a dozen states â" Oregon, Arizona, California and Iowa, among others â" have call centers in state and federal prisons, underscoring a push to employ inmates in telemarketing jobs that might otherwise go to low-wage countries such as India and the Philippines. Arizona prisoners make business calls, as do inmates in Oklahoma. A call center for the DMV is run out of an all-female prison in Oregon. Other companies are keeping manufacturing jobs in the USA. More than 150 inmates in a Virginia federal prison build car parts for Delco Remy International. Previously, some of those jobs were overseas. At least 2,000 inmates nationwide work in call centers, and that number is rising as companies seek cheap labor without incurring the wrath of politicians and unions. At the same time, prison populations are ballooning, offering U.S. companies another way to slash costs.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2004-07-06-call-center_x.htm [usatoday.com]
And they work for $200 dollars. A month. I'm glad that the prisoners get to do something productive...but it feels kind of weird/prison-industrial complexish. =0
Re: (Score:2)
And Ohio is known for its trained GIS inmates.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Frink: Here is an ordinary square.
Wiggum: Whoa, whoa, slow down, egghead!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Do you really expect the police to understand something like this? These are the guys who got to where they are by brute force - not by understanding things.
That's why they hire people who do understand these things to do it for them. Prison guards probably also don't understand the video monitoring systems they use, but that doesn't keep them from using them after they've been setup. It obviously doesn't take a genius to press a button to jam cell phone signals.
Re:I don't understand (Score:4, Informative)
Prisons keep convicts separate from the the rest of the population. They also, through their existence and the existence of prison rape, serve as a deterrent to crime, particularly the sort of white collar crime ordinary people might consider committing (embezzlement, fraud, DMCA violation).
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, thank you for using your awesome powers of ignorance and reading comprehension to make my point for me.