Oklahoma DOC plans to implement cellphone jamming technology if feds give the OK

Phones confiscated by the Department of Corrections are pictured. (Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections)

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Corrections may soon have a new tool to eliminate the use of contraband cell phones among inmates following a decision by the Federal Communications Commission.

Kay Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, said the agency is in talks with different companies to provide technology to jam cell phone signals in state prisons.

Earlier this year, the FCC advanced a proposal that, for the first time, could allow state prisons to use cellphone jamming technology to block phone signals amid a rise in contraband phones in prisons. The federal agency announcement it collects public comments on the proposed rules, a necessary step to authorize jamming technology.

Thompson said contraband cell phones are a growing problem in Oklahoma prisons.

From January to August, the agency confiscated 4,475 cell phones, it said.

Inmates use phones to coordinate violence, harass victims and engage in other criminal activity, she said.

“Being able to use jamming technology is another tool to help us combat cell phones, which will negatively impact the introduction of any contraband and make our facilities safer for both staff and inmates,” said Justin Farris, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Cell phones are often smuggled into prison by visitors, staff or using drones. Drones drop them off on prison property, Thompson said.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and 12 other attorneys general sent the federal agency a letter in support authorizing jamming devices.

The FCC’s current interpretation of federal rules prohibits the use of jamming devices in prisons, his office said. A federal law of 1934 only gives federal authorities the power to block public airwaves.

“It is time for our rules and policies to meet the needs of 21st century technology and put an end to all criminal activity through illicit means of communication within the walls of our prisons,” Drummond said in a press release.

Thompson said the agency does not plan to ask lawmakers for additional funds to implement a program to jam cell phones behind prison walls because it has enough money in its technology budget. However, some other projects may need to be put on hold, she said.

“We don’t know what the technology will be or even an estimate of the cost at this point,” Thompson said.

A previous concern was that the jamming devices could impact users outside of prison boundaries.

But Thompson said technology has evolved to the point where jamming devices can be targeted and don’t impact people outside of prisons.

She said the project would not impact staff because employees are already prohibited from bringing cellphones.

Thompson said the jamming technology would be deployed starting at the maximum-security Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and then to larger, medium-security facilities.

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