Combating Contraband Mobile Devices in Correctional Facilities

By, Travis Berrier, Vice President, Advanced Programs, SOC

The use of contraband cell phones in correctional facilities is a prevailing issue causing significant threats to the safety of the general public, facility staff, and inmates. The reality is, it’s difficult to keep phones from being smuggled into prisons, and there are many contraband devices out there. SOC, a global security firm, estimates that up to 25% of the U.S. inmate population has contraband cell phones. In a recent survey, Urban Institute found that 85% of correctional administrators say contraband phones jeopardize the security of facilities and the safety of incarcerated individuals and staff.

Mobile devices can be used for many negative and nefarious purposes, and incarcerated individuals are using phones and other devices to continue illegal activity. This includes soliciting acts of violence against members of the public or public officials and even undermining facility security to organize riots or escape attempts. Per the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice:

“Every day, correctional facilities face formidable threats from contraband such as illicit weapons, drugs, and cell phones. Prison and jail leaders and staff need new, more sophisticated means of stopping and seizing contraband before it reaches a facility’s population.”

For decades, the technology to detect contraband phones has existed, but efforts to manually search for devices were time- and labor-intensive. In addition, utilizing mobile carriers to disable contraband phones required a court order, which also required significant resources.

Several developments in recent years have created opportunities for correctional facilities to detect and disable devices more effectively. The most significant change came in 2021 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated regulations (FCC-21-82A1) around disconnecting contraband cell phones in correctional facilities. Most notably, the FCC established protocols allowing carriers to disable phones without a court order. Key stipulations include:

• The process must utilize FCC-certified hardware.
• The supplier must have an application approved by the FCC.
• The site must conduct self-certification testing per approved application.

This regulatory shift created an opportunity to develop a new system aligned with updated FCC standards and utilizing new technologies to streamline the process of detecting and disabling contraband devices. SOC has developed a system designed to comply with the updated FCC rules with demonstrable advantages and efficiencies over existing solutions.

Detect, Discover, and Disconnect with SignalSecure™

SOC launched SignalSecure™ to streamline the process of detecting and disconnecting contraband phones. The system works by identifying devices repeatedly over a marked period of time to establish patterns and helps establish contraband status. Once a device is suspected of being contraband, and is not an authorized or “whitelisted” device, SignalSecure then locates the device to make sure it is in the facility. While other solutions may cast a wide net and risk disabling non-contraband devices, SignalSecure uses analytics and location to more effectively collect and analyze key identifiers that limit the impact to only contraband devices. Once devices are detected and located, they are disabled by mobile carriers. In some cases, correctional facilities can then physically locate the phones to pull information that could aid in enhanced security and criminal investigations.

SignalSecure deploys limited infrastructure to establish and run the system, which ensures significant savings in cost and complexity. Reducing the amount of infrastructure needed also decreases the need to bring crews and materials into the correctional facility and decreases the burden on the facility to escort the crews. Additionally, limited infrastructure reduces the attack surface of equipment at risk of being damaged or sabotaged by inmates. At the same time, fixed installation with limited infrastructure is more effective than mobile solutions that can only be deployed and monitor for devices for a limited time.

Real-World Results

SOC has developed and refined SignalSecure over the last several months and recently concluded a successful pilot program with promising results. SOC partnered with a state correctional system to test SignalSecure’s approach and technology to discover contraband devices at a correctional facility. As part of the pilot, SOC participated in three separate third-party tests where the object was to detect and locate hidden phones and distinguish whether the phones were inside or outside the fence. All three tests were successful.