The Nationwide Emergency Alert System take a look at turned out to be an enormous success for nearly everybody … that’s except you had been a prisoner with an unlawful mobile phone behind bars.
Hundreds of thousands of cellphone customers throughout the U.S. received an alert Wednesday from the Federal Emergency Administration Company and FCC to make sure emergency alerts attain the general public at a nationwide stage. Telephones acquired each a take a look at message and made a loud alert noise.
Nevertheless, the testing system made prisoners hiding telephones a straightforward goal for jail guards.
A New York State Jail official tells us they confiscated two telephones at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in the course of the take a look at. Moreover, a supply at FCI Coleman Low in Florida says they too confiscated two telephones in the course of the emergency take a look at.
It is unclear what number of different prisons confronted comparable circumstances — we referred to as round in Arizona, California, Illinois and others — however you gotta think about it was an issue nationwide.
A supply in Nevada tells us most of their prisoners had been already conscious the alert was gonna occur, seemingly turning their telephones off, so that they did not confiscate any units.
When reached for remark, the BOP advised us, “The Federal Bureau of Prisons doesn’t elaborate on particular inside safety procedures for security and safety causes.”
Unsurprisingly, we’re advised telephones behind bars have change into a rising drawback, and officers have carried out new ways in attempting to find them — together with phone-sniffing canine referred to as “E-Canine.”
One thing tells us prisoners could change into extra cautious the subsequent time a public alert rolls round.