Endorsements and editorials are made solely by the ownership of this newspaper. As is the case at most newspapers across the nation, The Spokesman-Review newsroom and its editors are not a part of this endorsement process. (Learn more.)

Editorial: Give prisons tool to sever criminal connections

Wed., Aug. 12, 2009

Corrections officials in Washington say they don’t have much of a problem yet with cell phones in the hands of inmates. That’s not much comfort, given the experience in other states with a problem that has accelerated dramatically.

In Texas, prison officials reported retrieving 3,000 contraband cell phones in 2008. In Maryland, the figure was a relatively modest 1,000, but it represented a 71 percent increase in just two years.

And if anyone understands why cell phone use within prison walls is worrisome, it’s Maryland’s corrections officials. That’s where drug dealer Patrick Byers was awaiting trial in a murder case when he used a cell phone to order the killing of Carl S. Lackl, a witness against him. The slaying has become a rallying point in a drive to give prison administrators a needed new tool to control crime conducted from within the system. But numerous other states are citing troubling experiences of their own with federal laws that now tie their hands.

Specifically, the Safe Prison Act of 2009 would allow state and federal prison officials to petition the Federal Communications Commission for authority to jam cell phones within a specific prison. That isn’t allowed now. The measure, which passed out of the Senate Science and Transportation Committee this week, has prompted resistance from the cell phone industry even though the measure clearly requires steps to prevent interference with legitimate telecommunications in the vicinity of a prison. More than 20 states, including Washington, have lined up behind the measure.

One incident being invoked against the bill occurred at Mt. Spokane High School last spring. School officials tested a device to jam student cell phone use during class but dropped it after learning it was illegal and realizing it might interfere with a school resource officer’s cell phone.

But the measure contains ample safeguards against inadvertent interruption of legitimate transmissions. If passed, the new law would require the FCC to find that such protections were in place and that any jamming was only enough to get the job done.

Keeping adolescents’ minds on algebra instead of a prom date is one thing. Preventing violent felons from orchestrating criminal enterprises from behind bars is quite another. The Prison Safety Act of 2009 is deserves favorable attention from the full Congress.