S Carolina AG joins effort to get jails to use jamming systems to stop cellphones smuggled into jail

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from other states to urge Congress to combat contraband cell phones in prisons by implementing phone-jamming systems inside prison walls.

The solution to the public safety threat was proposed because inmates were using smuggled phones to coordinate violent crimes, drug trafficking operations and fraud schemes and to intimidate witnesses. 

On July 1, 2024, the Urban Institute stated that, according to correctional administrators, more than 25,000 cell phones were recovered across 20 state prison systems in 2020. In 2010, FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin also reported that about 2,800 devices were confiscated by California officials alone in 2008.

According to the joint letter sent to congressional leaders by Wilson and 30 other attorneys general, the proposed legislations, H.R. 2350 and Senate companion bill S. 1137, would allow states to implement cell phone jamming technology in correctional facilities without disrupting emergency signals or public cell service.

“For years, in South Carolina and across the nation, prison cells have become command centers for crime. Inmates are using contraband phones to traffic drugs, extort victims, and even order hits,” Wilson stated in the press release. “This isn’t just a talking point—it’s a full-blown crisis. I’m once again calling on Congress: give states the power to jam these phones. Enough talk. It’s time to act.” 

Even though the proposed technology is allowed in federal prisons, current federal law prohibits such systems in state prisons.

"This is not a partisan issue – it’s a public safety issue," Wilson stated in the letter. "Every day we delay is another day criminals can exploit our prisons to harm the public. We’re calling on Congress to act now."