RESOURCES:
Michigan Department of Corrections
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU FM Ypsilanti. I'm Caroline McGregor. And my guest today is Heidi Washington. She's the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections and has been since July of 2015. We're here today to discuss a multi-state coalition, which is calling for Congress to support legislation that would allow cell phone jamming systems in prisons. Welcome, first of all, Heidi!
Heidi Washington: Good morning! Thank you!
Caroline MacGregor: Tell me about this coalition, or at least what the trigger was for this legislation that has come about, if you would, please.
Heidi Washington: Sure. Well, the coalition is a contingency of many of the states, along with members of Congress, who have introduced legislation that would allow states to utilize jamming technology, which is, essentially, technology that allows the disruption of the connection between cellular devices and the signal source--so, the cell phone tower. And what that does is essentially would render contraband cell phones within our facilities useless. And the reason that this is important is that the corrections industry, that is, people like myself across the nation, including people who run jails, have been grappling for quite some time now with the introduction of illegal contraband cell phones into our facilities that are being used for numerous nefarious activities. And so, our goal is to be able to use this technology to interrupt those signals and make those phones useless to the individuals who are using them for illegal purposes.
Caroline MacGregor: How widespread is the use of contraband cell phones? And how are they being smuggled into jails and prisons?
Heidi Washington: It is very widespread. I think you can talk to virtually anybody who runs any of these systems, and they can give you a litany of case examples and stories and evidence, in fact, of what is happening with them. So, they're smuggled in through a variety of ways, through the mail, through fence throws, through traffic that comes in and out of the facilities. So, there's lots of different ways. And yes, we have many things in place to try to prevent them, and we do, but the reality is some are still getting in. Things are being thrown over fences, etc. So, once they are inside, prisoners can use them obviously. They circumvent the monitored inmate telephone system by conducting their activities via these cell phones. And in doing so, they are able to conduct illegal enterprise, they are able to intimidate witnesses and victims, they are able to organize further criminal activity. There's numerous, many, many documented instances of planning assaults on staff, planning assaults and, in fact, homicides on people in the community, attempts to smuggle drugs, and I could go on and on. But the bottom line is that these phones pose a danger to those who work and live inside of our institutions, as well as a danger for the public at large.
Caroline MacGregor: Why is signal jamming technology banned currently in many states by the government?
Heidi Washington: Well, that is something you'd have to talk to the FCC about. Their concerns have to do with, I think, the ability to confine the jamming to the area of the prison and not having it bleed out.
Caroline MacGregor: I see.
Heidi Washington: I think you'll hear more about that as these bills are debated.
Caroline MacGregor: If you're just tuning in, I'm talking with Heidi Washington, the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections about contraband cell phone use in prisons. So, what is the current technology in use in prison to try to detect the use of contraband cell phones?
Heidi Washington: Well, there's a number of different things. In Michigan, we have made a lot of investments in technology: things like body scanners and cell phone interdiction systems, different types of cell phone detection systems that are available in the marketplace. So, we are doing those things, but those are much different than in what jamming would allow, which is to render the phone useless. Detecting the phone is something completely different. All we are doing is detecting that there is a phone. Sometimes, we don't know even where it is, just that it's in a particular facility, that it is in a particularly unit. So, even though we have technologies in place to assist us with this, they would not be nearly as effective as what we are seeking.
Caroline MacGregor: I wanted to ask you about the national shortage of corrections officers, not just Michigan. Is this contributing to the problem as far as detecting these contraband cell phones in prisons and jails?
Heidi Washington: No. I don't think that the staffing challenges are contributing to our inability to find phones. I think those are two wholly different topics. Like I said, we are investing in technologies to assist us with this effort, but it's really sort of a technological fix that we're looking for here. I could have many more staff, and if I don't have the technology to stop the phone signal, that's not going to have any impact.
Caroline MacGregor: I was reading that, I think, it was a 2020 survey of probably 20 state correctional departments uncovered over 25,000 contraband cell phones in a single year. That's an astounding number!
Heidi Washington: Yes. The numbers are pretty staggering, and that, again, is just highlighting the urgency of this problem and the fact that we need the assistance of Congress. And we, thankfully, have that assistance now by way of this new bill that has been introduced, but I think that just highlights the seriousness of the problem and how we need to work together to get this fixed for the safety of the public and the safety of those who live and work within our institutions.
Caroline MacGregor: Where do we stand currently with the legislation?
Heidi Washington: Well, it was just recently introduced in March. And so, it's been referred to committee, and we are awaiting hearings.
Caroline MacGregor: Some of the crimes you pointed out, they sound like, with access to these phones, they're able to carry out some pretty sophisticated criminal activities.
Heidi Washington: Yes. Oh, absolutely! I mean, everything from organizing identification fraud, credit card fraud, mortgage fraud, to orchestrating smuggling activities, which, obviously, poses a serious danger to those who live and work inside facilities, all the way up to orchestrating hits and other assaults on people in the community and/or people inside of prisons, so, again, the idea is that these phones are unmonitored. So, the communications that are happening on these phones are happening without our ability to know. And, whereas, the communications that happen on the authorized inmate phone system, we have mechanisms in place to be able to monitor those and understand what's happening. And that is taken away when people are using illegal cell phones.
Caroline MacGregor: Heidi Washington, director of Michigan Department of Corrections. Thank you for joining me today!
Heidi Washington: Sure, thank you!
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