The
U.S. House of Representatives approved the Cell
Phone Contraband Act of 2010 (S. 1749) on Tuesday which is
a bill
that prohibits the use of wireless devices like cell phones
by Federal prisoners.
According
to Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-California), those in federal prisons have
used cell phones to lead
criminal business inside and outside of the prison,
including drug operations, credit card fraud, and gang hits. Clearly
defining cell phones as contraband will eliminate this abuse of cell
phone use.
The
bill was introduced in October 2009 and the Senate approved it in
April of this year. Now that it has passed through the House of
Representatives, this cell phone bill only needs to be signed by
President Barack Obama to become law.
Cell
phones, up to this point, have been banned from prisons, but not
clearly identified as contraband through law. Most cell phones are
smuggled into federal prisons', and when prisoner's are caught with
them, they are rarely punished. Feinstein noted that a corrupt
correctional officer in
the state of California recently made approximately $150,000 in one
year by selling cell phones at $500 to $1,000 a piece to prisoners.
But
that is all about to change if the President signs this bill. Any
prisoners caught with a cell phone or anyone caught smuggling a cell
phone to an inmate will be punished with one year in prison,
according to the
latest reports.
In
addition, cell phone signal jamming in and around prisons has been
petitioned by state governments as a precautionary move in case some
prisoners manage to smuggle wireless devices in despite the new
potential law.
Even
cell phone representatives seem to be on board with the new bill,
despite the fact that they could lose some business in the process.
"CTIA
and the wireless industry are pleased that the House joined the
Senate in passing this important piece of legislation which would
prohibit the possession or use of cell phones by federal prisoners,"
said Steve Largent, CTIA Wireless Association President and CEO. "We
strongly oppose prisoners having access to contraband phones and
believe inmates, and anyone who supplies them with a device, should
be severely punished."
Turning
this bill into law will prohibit prisoners from involving themselves
in criminal-related activities, but Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) notes
that not all prisoners are using
cell phones for this purpose. According to Scott, some
prisoners are legitimately trying to call home to their families, and
use cell phones because they are forced to call collect at an
increased cost to the recipient of the phone call.
