MONROE — Prisons are using the finely tuned snout of a Labrador mix to sniff out illegal cell phones.
Jessie, 5, is stationed at the Monroe Correctional Complex. Along with border collie Razor — named after the popular Motorola handset — the dogs are trained to find high-tech contraband.
Cell phones can run up to $1,000 on the black market behind bars, said Chad Lewis, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections. Once smuggled inside, prisoners can use them for a variety of illegal and possibly dangerous activities.
In the past, the state prison’s remote location meant cell phones wouldn’t work because they were out of range, Lewis said. Today, wireless signals easily breach prison walls.
Now, officials fear that prisoners could get their hands on smuggled mobile phones. New technology in the phones adds the ability to surf the Internet, take photos and send text messages — all without supervision.
“They can just call anybody,” he said, including crime victims or conspirators.
In other states, prisoners reportedly have used cell phones from behind bars to conduct illegal activities, including making threats, Lewis said. Others have plotted escapes.
There’s no evidence that the same thing is happening in Washington. Since 2007, about three phones have been found in the state’s 15 prisons, Lewis said.
Still, officials are concerned.
“Though the number of cell phones discovered is relatively low, it’s important to remember that unlike other contraband that can only be used or consumed a few times — like cigarettes — cell phones can be used by multiple offenders countless times,” he said.
Phones sometimes are smuggled inside or tossed into prison complexes.
Jessie and Razor go through cell blocks sniffing out cell phones and other illegal items, including drugs and cigarettes.
The state’s effort to prevent prisoners from using mobile phones is extending to the airwaves too.
Washington has joined about two dozen other states to ask the Federal Communications Commission if prisons can scramble cell phone signals. It’s unclear if that request will be approved.
Prisoners caught with cell phones may face sanctions or criminal charges, Lewis said.
And if Jessie or Razor finds a contraband cell phone on a corrections officer, the officer could lose his or her job, or face criminal charges.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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