Cell Phones in Prison?

The Huffington Post hosted a discussion about inmates having cell phones in prison. One inmate stated that most inmates would use the cell phones for contact with family members and not for criminal purposes. Although many inmates would use cell phones for family contacts, there is no doubt that a number of the inmates would use cell phones for criminal activity. As a former inmate, I see only serious security problems for the prison. It would be more beneficial to concentrate on the major problem of predatory phone rates as discussed in previous articles on Prisonpath.

See the following Huffington Post article:

Family members of criminals say that when their relatives are sentenced to prison, the entire family serves time. HuffPost Live’s Marc Lamont Hill hosted a discussion to explore what resources can help these families deal with their burdens.

For Jeff Brooks, lack of communication during his 16-year prison sentence negatively affected his relationship with his son.

“There are no cell phones in California state prison that are allowed,” Brooks said. “There’s thousands and thousands of guys who have cell phones just simply to keep contact with their families. And they constantly get caught and they get written up. They get more time.”

Some argue that cell phones give prisoners a chance to conduct crime outside, but Brooks disagrees.

“The idea that the department of corrections would want you to believe is that all these guys are all using it for criminality. When the fact of the matter is, all people are trying to do is stay connected with their families.”