Arkansas Secretary of Corrections Solomon Graves expressed appreciation to Arkansas Senators Tom Cotton, John Boozman and others for introducing the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act, legislation to prevent contraband cellphone use in federal and state prison facilities by allowing state and federal prisons to use cellphone-jamming systems.
“Prisoners have used contraband cell phones to direct illegal activities outside prison walls, including hits on rivals, sex trafficking, drug operations, and business deals,” Cotton said. “Cellphone-jamming devices can stop this, but the Federal Communications Act doesn’t allow facilities to use this technology. My bill would fix this problem so that criminals serve their time without posing a threat to the general public.”
The Cellphone Jamming Reform Act gives state and federal prisons the authority to implement a jamming system to protect inmates, officers, and the public at large.
“At stake is the safety of the 4,500 brave men and women who make up the Arkansas Department of Corrections family,” Secretary Graves said. “We see every day the dangerous ramifications of inmates using contraband cellphones to conduct illegal activities and engage in extortion and fraud schemes from inside the walls of our units.”
This legislation is supported by the Correctional Leaders Association, the Council of Prison Locals, the American Correctional Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the Major County Sheriffs of America.
Senators Cotton, Boozman, Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), and James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) are original co-sponsors of the bill. Representative David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House Of Representatives.
