Representative Kustoff Op-Ed: “Cellphone Jamming Reform Act is Key to Alleviating Crime Crisis”
By: Congressman David Kustoff
Over the past few years, communities across the nation have seen an unprecedented spike in crime.
According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association’s 2022 crime report for urban areas, homicide, rape, and aggravated assault are up dramatically since 2022. All Americans deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods. In House Republicans’ Commitment to America, we promised that a new Republican majority would work toward creating a nation that is safe. A key pillar of that promise is alleviating the current crime crisis.
A crucial step toward reducing crime and protecting public safety is to address the rampant use of contraband cellphones in jails and prisons. That is why I joined Senator Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, in introducing the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act. This important legislation would prevent criminals from conducting complex criminal operations from behind prison walls by allowing correctional facilities to use cellphone jamming systems. This technology will protect inmates, guards, and the public at large.
State attorneys general from across the country have determined that contraband cellphones are the most serious threat to public safety facing prison administrators today. As cellphone technology has evolved, mobile phones have become easier to conceal. They provide endless ways for criminals to communicate with the outside world. Inmates use contraband phones to organize murders, riots, drug operations, fraud, extortion and other crimes.
For example, a Tennessee inmate used a contraband cellphone to orchestrate drug conspiracy deals by shipping a package full of methamphetamine to his girlfriend.
In South Carolina, there have been four major drug trafficking cases where the operation was run through the use of contraband cellphones from behind prison walls, the most recent operation being so sophisticated it involved a Mexican drug cartel. Furthermore, in 2018, gang-affiliated inmates in a maximum-security prison used cellphones to organize and coordinate a brutal attack that killed seven inmates and injured 20.
The National Institute of Justice, under the Department of Justice, has been working with private partners to test managed access systems in jails and prisons. Managed access systems monitor cellular networks by acting as a middleman between cellphones and cell towers. As a result, these systems can capture incoming and outgoing caller data and cell signal data from jails and prisons.
Managed access systems, however, reject only cellular communications that are not registered in the system database. They still allow a connection to Wi-Fi and hot spots that can easily be deployed from parking lots, for example, to be used by inmates. Therefore, the most sensible solution is cellphone jamming technology that will block all communication. Advanced technology available today offers proper precision and will not hinder the surrounding area’s access to emergency services.
One of the most fundamental duties of government is to ensure all its citizens have the ability to live, work, and raise a family without the fear of being a victim of crime. It is more critical now than ever that the federal government support, defend, and provide the necessary resources for our criminal justice system to operate effectively and ensure the well-being of the public.
The Cellphone Jamming Reform Act is a key step toward fulfilling our goal of creating a nation that is safe. Ending the outrageous use of contraband cellphones in jails and prisons is an immediate solution to reduce crime, improve public safety, and provide relief to our overwhelmed correctional systems.
I urge Congress to act now and pass this important legislation, the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act.
David Kustoff is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative from Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District.
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