Mobile phone companies will be required to block prisoners using unauthorised handsets under plans to enforce the ban on their use inside jails.
The move is being implemented in legislation which forms part of the serious crime bill, which was due to be given its second Commons reading by MPs on Monday. Phone Retro Handset
The prisons minister, Andrew Selous, said a range of security measures had led to an increase in seizures of illicit handsets inside prisons, but the new power would significantly increase the ability of jails to tackle the problem. “By ordering a phone to be cut off once it is identified, we will be able to reassure victims and prevent further criminal activity faster and wider than ever before,” he said.
The measure will mean that once an unauthorised handset or sim card has been identified by a new generation of detection equipment, prison authorities will be able to apply for a court order requiring the phone to be disconnected.
A justice ministry official said the court order could be issued without the handset needing to be seized or proof that it was being used by a specific prisoner.
The ban on the use of unauthorised mobile phones in prisons has been on the statute book since 2007. Various measures have been used to enforce it, including body searches, whole body scanners, X-ray machines, metal detectors and CCTV. The Ministry of Justice said 7,451 mobile phones and sim cards were seized in prisons in 2013.
The prisons minister said the use of illicit mobile phones in jails could lead to bullying and disorder, as well as enabling serious and organised criminals to continue with their activities, such as drug smuggling, from behind bars.
ANTI-EXPLOSION WATERPROOF KEYBOARD The 2012 ban on the use of mobile phones in prisons also included powers to block signals. But this has proved difficult to implement, with the block often also affecting buildings in the immediate vicinity of the prison.