Records show the Correctional Service is requesting telecom companies to block cell phone signals at federal penitentiaries.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, thousands of unauthorized mobile devices have been smuggled into prisons.“The Correctional Service is engaging with this (industry) group as part of its efforts to seek a regulatory exemption to deploy jamming technology,” the Correctional Service said in an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons. It did not elaborate. Cellphone jamming is illegal in Canada.Penitentiary managers reported that since 2018, they have confiscated 2,800 "electronic devices," including cellphones, from federal prisoners. Inmates often use these unauthorized phones to avoid using prison landlines, which are monitored under the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations.Inmates must provide a "call list" that includes the approved names, addresses and phone numbers of the people they wish to contact.“To better protect the safety and security of our institutions, the Correctional Service continues to explore new, innovative means of preventing and seizing contraband,” said the Inquiry. The information was tabled at the request of Conservative MPs Frank Caputo (Kamloops-Thompson, BC) and Ed Fast (Abbotsford, BC).The Correctional Service said in 2021 it “began looking into how it may introduce cell jamming technology” including research in Australia. The Australian Communications Authority in 2021 exempted two penitentiaries from its national ban on phone jammers with a warning “there is a risk using a mobile phone jammer in a prison will interfere with surrounding public mobile phone networks.”In 2021, the US Federal Communications Commission allowed state prison managers to block unauthorized cell phone calls. This added to the existing permission for federal penitentiaries in the United States to jam mobile communications used by inmates.“On February 1 2023, the Correctional Service met with representatives of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, which represents Canadian telecommunication carriers who provide services and products across the wireless sector,” said the Inquiry. “The meeting with the Association was to discuss mitigation measures involving contraband cellular communications devices.”“On June 15, the Correctional Service co-hosted a discussion with the Association and representatives from all major telecommunications carriers from across Canada,” said the Inquiry. No deadline for seeking the regulatory exemption to block wireless communications at prisons was fixed.In a 2018 report, the Correctional Service described cell phones as an obvious security risk. “Contraband entering Canadian prisons is an ongoing security concern with increasing occurrences,” it said.
