Inmates are only allowed to use a prison telephone in prison. The conversations they have via this telephone can be saved and monitored. That is why thumb phones are regularly smuggled into prison. In order to find this kind of contraband, the Correctional Institutions Agency regularly conducts ‘sweep campaigns’ (searches, ed.).
“We regularly hold these kinds of promotions. We then unannounced, for example, search ten cells at the same time,” explains Robert Meijer of DJI. “Prisoners then have no time to hide things or to flush the toilet.” During an action in the prison in Sittard last week, several telephones were found in this way.
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“Of course we try to keep these mini phones outside the wall. But they are shot over the wall with tennis balls, for example, or smuggled in through visitors.”
‘Hard to find’
Once the phones are in, they are hard to find. “They are so small and contain few metals that we can hardly find them. We do have devices that allow us to pick up cell phone signals, but when these phones are turned off they are hard to find.”
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Fortunately, an effective tool has been found in this cat and mouse game between the prisoners and their guards: the telephone dog. “Thanks to our dog team, we were able to find several telephones. The dogs smell a certain ingredient in the telephone. We regularly find something. It is used nationally, at various PIs.”
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Phones the size of a thumb. What can you actually do with it? Bram van Dijk van Bright previously tested a mini phone and they turned out to be quite handy. “I once tested one to use my smartphone a little less,” he tells EditieNL. “You can call and text surprisingly well with it. I was also able to play a game on it.”
“They are very practical although the microphone is very far from your mouth because it is so small. But it works.”
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