Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010 | 4:15 p.m.
Nevada prison officials are joining colleagues nationwide in a crackdown on what they say is widespread illegal cell phone use among inmates.
The Nevada Corrections Department wants the 2011 Legislature to allow state prisons — with a judge’s approval — to trace telephone calls to detect and confiscate cell phones smuggled to inmates.
Department director Howard Skolnik, who is retiring at the end of this month, said the legislation is needed because inmates can use the phones to plot escapes, create disruptions in prison or coordinate other criminal activities with outside street gangs.
“We don’t have the authority to track cell phones, which is becoming an increasing problem in the prisons,” Skolnik said. “We have not confiscated that many, and that’s a concern.”
The law, the Communications Act of 1934, established the FCC as the regulatory authority over telephone service nationwide. The FCC views cell phone use as a valuable form of communication for businesses and individuals that should be protected from jamming.
Concern over cell phones but lacking the authority to jam signals prompted Skolnik’s department to train a dog to sniff out the mobile devices starting early next year.
Find more coverage of this story Friday at lasvegassun.com.
