Smuggled Signals: How Contraband Cellphones in Prisons Endanger Officers and Communities

If you asked correctional officers what poses the greatest daily threat to their safety, many would point not only to riots or weapons, but also to contraband cellphones.

That reality was emphasized in a recent interview with WGXA News, where Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr said prison officials across the country told him contraband phones are at the center of some of the most dangerous criminal activity happening both inside and outside of prison walls.

The scale of the problem is significant. According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), more than 2,600 contraband phones were confiscated from state prisons last year, including roughly 300 in August 2025 alone. Each device represents more than a prohibited convenience; it can become a command-and-control tool for organized crime. According to Forbes, in 2021, USP Atlanta confiscated 800 cellphones among nearly 1,500 inmates, meaning roughly every other inmate had access to a phone.

The Human Cost of Contraband Phones

From coordinating drug trafficking and extortion schemes to ordering assaults and murders, incarcerated individuals will often go to extreme lengths to obtain and conceal mobile devices. These devices have also been used to murder correctional staff.

One notable example occurred in South Carolina in 2010. Robert Johnson, a correctional officer tasked with preventing the flow of drugs, cellphones, and other contraband into Lee Correctional Institution, was preparing for work at his home when a hitman forced his way inside and shot him six times. Johnson survived, but with life-altering injuries. Investigators later determined the attack was ordered by an inmate using a contraband cellphone from inside the prison.

Another tragic example occurred on February 26, 2013, involving Lt. Osvaldo Albarati‑Casañas, a Bureau of Prisons Lieutenant assigned to MDC Guaynabo in Puerto Rico. Lt. Albarati‑Casañas was ambushed and murdered while driving home from work. The investigation revealed a murder‑for‑hire conspiracy coordinated by inmates inside the prison using contraband cellphones. The motive was believed to be retaliation for Lt. Albarati‑Casañas’s role in investigating contraband smuggling operations within the facility. The case ultimately led to indictments against nine individuals, including multiple inmates and outside associates, several who were convicted or pled guilty.

How Contraband Phones Get Inside

According to Chairman Carr and correctional officials, the ways contraband cellphones enter prisons are constantly evolving. Phones are smuggled in through a range of methods, including:

• Drones, which can bypass 60-foot perimeter nets and drop devices into secure areas
• Visitors, who conceal phones on their person
• Corrupt staff, who bring phones inside for profit
• Equipment and supply deliveries, where devices are hidden among legitimate items
• Improvised launch tools, such as potato guns, used to send phones over fences

Once inside, contraband phones allow incarcerated individuals to bypass monitoring systems entirely, connecting directly to criminal networks outside the facility.

Preventing Use Rather Than Chasing the Device

Given the complexity of modern smuggling methods, many officials argue that interception alone is not enough. A growing consensus has emerged around a simpler deterrent: making the phones unusable.

If unauthorized devices cannot connect to a network, the incentive to risk thousands of dollars, lengthy sentences, or violent punishments to smuggle them in is significantly reduced. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is actively working on new rules to allow prisons to use targeted signal jamming technology to block illegal cell phone use, by proposing new rules to allow jamming under strict FCC oversight, requiring equipment approval and limiting disruption to legitimate outside calls, a significant shift in policy to combat prison crime.

SOC supports FCC’s efforts to modernize its framework for addressing contraband cellphone use in correctional facilities. Within that framework, SOC developed SignalSecure, a platform designed to operate in compliance with FCC rules by emphasizing rapid detection and lawful carrier disconnect notification, rather than broad signal disruption. By pairing directional sensors with an structured carrier notification process, SignalSecure identifies unauthorized devices within a facility and promptly request disconnection. Unlike true signal jamming, it detects contraband devices located in buildings, recreation yards, and other common areas within the facility, not just housing units or specifically targeted areas.

Looking Ahead

Contraband cellphones are unlikely to disappear overnight. Criminal organizations will continue adapting their tactics, just as correctional agencies adapt their defenses. However, the recent FCC action paired with compliant, next-generation detection technologies has shifted the balance.

As more correctional facilities adopt tools aligned with the updated regulatory framework, officials will gain a more effective, sustainable way to reduce criminal communications. The result is not just safer prisons, but improved protection for correctional staff and communities impacted by crimes planned from behind prison walls.