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Posts with tag prison

Scottish Prisoners Getting Flat-Screens

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 4th 2008 at 10:09AM

Scottish Prisoners Getting Flat-ScreensWe know that prison systems around the world are in desperate need of modernization, but did you really have to give them flat-screen TVs? Huh, Scotland? Some of our staff can't even afford LCD TVs, and (to our knowledge) they're not criminals.

A privately-run prison in West Lothian, Scotland is getting a makeover that makes it nicer than your average college dorm. Electronic kiosks have been installed for prisoners to check menus and order food, check account balances, and order supplies from the canteen.

The prison even has a computer room, library, a gym, and private showers in the cells. Audrey Park, the prison director, defended the availability of flat-screen TVs for the prisoners. She pointed out that the TVs must be purchased by the prisoners and were limited to 15 inches in size.

So in this prison, the real punishment is being forced to squint and hunch over a tiny television screen all day. [From: Telegraph]

Contraband Cell Phones on the Rise in Prisons

by Lee Bains, posted Nov 21st 2008 at 12:45PM



Contraband cell phones are showing up in prisons at alarming rates, according to USA Today.

Last year, South Carolinian authorities discovered more than 1,000 phones in the state's prisons, while Californian authorities confiscated 1,400. These extremely high numbers are largely due, corrections officers suspect, to a new method of smuggling, whereby smugglers use a sort of "launcher" to rocket the phones over prison walls.

Inmates have used the smuggled phones to call in threats to their former victims, coordinate further smuggling, plan escape attempts and, in at least one case, relentlessly seek pardon from a state senator.

While implementing cell signal-blocking technology could solve these prisons' problems outright, a current federal law prevents them from doing so. Some of the states, though, are willing to try out their luck; South Carolina plans to host a jamming-technology demonstration today. [From: USA Today]
Engadget

Recon Scout Robot Gets New Job at Prison

by Engadget Staff, posted Oct 31st 2008 at 11:49AM



You may remember this little dumbell-looking Recon Scout drone we saw last year, when it had just been implemented in the military. If you'll recall, the robot selflessly allows itself to be thrown into wild and unpredictable situations deemed "too risky" for people, then transmits grainy video back to an Operator Control Unit.

Well, it turns out that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) was interested in this rugged bastion of self-sacrifice, too. The CDCR can apparently envision all kinds of nightmare scenarios in which prisoners have weapons and no human wants any part of it -- which is why they've agreed to a rental contract where they get ten devices and developer ReconRobotics gets feedback from the Department in exchange.

Seriously though, aren't there any jubilant tasks we could set this guy to? He's getting to be such a killjoy.
Engadget HD

TV Pirate Gets Jail Time for Rebroadcasting DISH Network Material

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 23rd 2008 at 8:08AM

If you really needed proof that the statement "crime doesn't pay" had at least a semblance of truth behind it, here's your sign. Known satellite TV pirate Glenn White has been sentenced to a 14 month stint in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally rebroadcasting DISH Network's programming.

As the story goes, Mr. White was doing business in Wagram, North Carolina under the name Wagram Cable, but rather than distributing material in a legal manner, he chose to crack DISH's encryption and then monetize it. Big mistake.

Oh, and DISH Network actually put this out on a press release in order to let the public know it "will continue to fight those who aid or participate in illegally breaking into encrypted DISH Network TV channels and set-top boxes." Don't say it didn't warn you.

[Image courtesy of FlatPanelTV]

Seven Prisoners Hospitalized After Hiding Phones in Rectums

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 5th 2008 at 5:28PM

Seven Prisoners Hospitalized After Hiding Phones in RearsCellular News reports that seven prisoners in Pakistan's Camp Jail have been hospitalized after hiding cell phones in their rectums.

Yes, the classic pastime of hiding things in one's anus to avoid confiscation extends to such uncomfortably bulky items as cell phones. In a sweep of the prison with metal detectors, the guards found 30 cell phones hidden in anuses around the prison. Unfortunately, seven phones (each in different prisoners, of course) were unable to be removed without medical attention.

To make matters worse, those seven men were publicly identified on the prison's bulletin board and placed in chakkis, small cells where prisoners can only sit or stand.

We're just wondering what happens if you accidentally leave the phone on vibrate while its in there? [From: Cellular News, Via: Textually]

UK Taxpayers Footing the $500K Bill for PlayStations in Prisons

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 11:39AM

U.K. Tax-Payers Buying Playstations for Prisoners
One would think that when you go to jail, luxuries like PlayStation and Xbox would have to be left behind, but quite often in the UK, video games are finding their way into prisons, sometimes on the British taxpayer's dime.

A recent audit of the Prison Service found that it had spent £221,726 (almost $432,000) on consoles and video games for prisoners. Most of the roughly 13,000 consoles found in the country's jails were paid for by the inmates themselves, but 1,700 were purchased with taxpayer money.

The program has turned into a bit of a scandal and officials are already taking steps to quell the furor. Spending on video games and consoles for prisoners has been frozen and all titles rated for 18 and older only have been removed. The revelation that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on entertainment at a time when rehabilitation programs in prisons are struggling for funding has many up in arms. As one British Justice said "Offenders should be learning and preparing for the world of work, not idly playing Grand Theft Auto and preparing to return to crime." [Source: Daily Mail]

Cell Phone Hidden in Cake, Smuggled Into Prison

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 26th 2008 at 12:04PM

Chaplain Unwittingly Smuggles Cell Phone in Birthday Cake
Cell phones are now legal in most places -- even North Korea, where, until recently, owning one was a crime punishable by death. But despite certain celebrities acting otherwise, cellys are still illegal in jails, where criminals are resorting to some interesting techniques to smuggle them in -- such as baking them into cakes, as a chaplain unwittingly found out in Dublin, Ireland.

The chaplain was bringing a birthday cake in to a prisoner serving a two-year sentence for arson. When he arrived, the cake was sent through an X-Ray machine and a phone was found stashed inside, hidden like keys or weapons used to be in old-time movies. It's unclear exactly who actually baked the cake and put the phone inside, but the chaplain at least has been cleared of any wrongdoing while the investigation continues. [Source: Belfasttelegraph.co.uk, via textually.org]

Cassettes Still a Big Seller in Prisons

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 24th 2008 at 11:24AM



One music retailer in California has cornered the music cassette sales market. Big deal, you say? Well, it is when you consider that, in jail, digital music players are useless and CDs are dangerous contraband. But, for some reason, cassette tapes and players are allowed, which means that millions of people in this country are forced to use an outdated method of music distribution that many labels no longer cater to. That's why Bob Paris of Pack Central started stocking up on cassettes a number of years ago and has developed a burgeoning business that caters specifically to the incarcerated.

While the rest of the music industry struggles to stay afloat, Paris's business has remained flat with more than a million dollars in sales for the last five years straight. "I have dodged every conventional bullet that has hit most music retailers," Paris told the New York Times. "I don't have to worry about downloading, legal or illegally." [Source: NY Times]

Cell-Phone-Sniffing Dogs Unleashed on Jails

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 16th 2008 at 2:12PM

Cell Phone Sniffing Dogs Unleashed on JailsOne of the most problematic items of contraband that are sneaked into prisons are cell phones. More than drugs or weapons, cell phones cause headaches not just for the corrections officers, but also for law enforcement on the outside. With a cell phone, criminal masterminds can continue to direct actions outside the prison walls and have unmonitored communication with potential suppliers of additional contraband. Cell phones are even sold and rented by prisoners for sky high prices.

But in Maryland, prisons are fighting back with a trio of dogs trained to smell out cell phones instead of drugs. In a recent demonstration for the press, two dogs were charged with finding cell phones stashed in cells. In all but one of the trials, the dogs tracked down the phones in under 30 seconds.

Like drugs and people, cell phones have a unique scent the dogs are trained to pick up. Even so, it's still more difficult for dogs to sniff out a cell phone than, say, a brick of marijuana, 'cause phones just aren't that smelly.

Gosh, being a prisoner just keeps getting harder -- first they took away their pigeons, now they're taking away their cell phones. You'd think they did something wrong. [Source: Washington Post, Via: Textually]

Prison Inmates Use Pigeons to Wing and Sling Drugs, Cell Phones

by Christine Whitney, posted Jun 27th 2008 at 7:02AM



Between riots, fires, and overcrowding -- Brazilian jails are totally scary. But fascinating! People expect wild stuff to be happening in Brazil's prison system, and the inmates of Marilia, Sao Paulo, do not disappoint.

Recently, guards noticed an alarming increase in cell phones and drugs within prison walls. But where were they coming from? The prison has a high-tech security screening process that all visitors are subjected to, so it couldn't be Granny and Minha Filha muling those phones.

It was the pigeons! Under the guards' noses, inmates trained these rats of the air (on the prison roof, no less) and sent them off on special missions. Prisoners outfitted the pigeons with small cell phone pouches (pigeon backpacks!) that were filled with cell phones (appropriately) or drugs by contacts on the outside.
Just like Jim Jarmusch's film 'Ghost Dog!'

Guards wised up to the scheme when they "saw some pigeons struggling to fly," says Reuters. Though the guards are onto it now, this pigeon racket is a stroke of lo-fi brilliance. [Source: Reuters, via Textually]

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