The Federal Communications Commission is moving to clear the way for states to jam illegal cellphone signals inside prisons and jails, a change South Carolina officials have pushed for years.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced Wednesday that the commission plans to vote on clarifying the rules in three weeks. A draft decision will be released to the public before the vote.
The proposed change would allow states to apply to use cellphone-jamming technology in correctional facilities. Once approved by the FCC, states would work with the agency and cellphone providers to ensure the technology is deployed properly.
South Carolina has been a leading voice in the effort. Tests at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, conducted in 2019 and again earlier this year, showed the technology could block signals inside the prison without disrupting cellphone service outside, officials said.
Carr said illegal cellphones have become a serious public safety threat, with inmates using them to coordinate violence, order killings, orchestrate escapes, demand money from victims and run criminal operations from behind bars.
South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Joel Anderson said the change would help prevent incarcerated people from using contraband phones to commit crimes outside prison walls.
The announcement also highlighted the experience of former SCDC Capt. Robert Johnson, who was shot six times at his Sumter home in 2010 by a man hired by inmates using an illegal cellphone. Johnson survived but continues to deal with chronic pain and undergo surgeries related to his injuries.
Carr credited Johnson with helping push for a policy change that would give correctional officials another tool to combat contraband phones.
If the FCC approves the proposal, states would still need to apply for authorization before deploying the technology in their prisons and jails.
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