Mississippi prison blocked 216,320 illegal calls last month

The Mississippi prison system rolled out technology last month that made it the first state to use advanced technologies to prevent cell phone use by prisoners. 

Playing keep-away with such tiny devices has been a struggle for jails, especially after the advent of pre-paid phones helped eliminate the paper trail.

Law enforcement officials say cell phones allow inmates to continue breaking the law from inside their cells. Mississippi officials also noted several escapes that have been planned with the devices, which can go for $1,000 within prison walls.

Mississippi found a solution to stifle inmate communications even if a cell phone gets inside. It is the first state to deploy "managed access" technology, which allow prisons to work with phone companies so that only registered phones get service. Emergency 911 calls also get through.

Phone companies prefer managed-access solutions to technology that jams all cell phone reception in a certain location, which they see as too blunt an instrument.

Steve Largent, president of the wireless association CTIA, said in a blog post on Friday that managed-access technology works more like "a scalpel."

After deploying the technology, a state jail in Parchman, Miss., blocked 216,320 calls last month.

People on jail premises who try to make a call with an unregistered cell phone get a fail message: "The cellular device you are using at the Mississippi State Penitentiary has been identified as contraband and is illegal to possess under the criminal statute, 47-5-193. The device will no longer function."

The technology, approved by the Federal Communications Commission, also makes call information available for analysis so officials can do a deeper dive into who is breaking the rules.

Largent said the technology allows officials "to identify the location of a contraband phone, track its use and provide opportunities to retrieve the device and prosecute those in possession."

President Obama signed a bill into law last month, championed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), that threatens a year of jail time to people who attempt to sneak phones to inmates.