No bars behind bars? Ottawa wants to cut cell service to smuggled jail phones

OTTAWA – Criminals who run their operations from behind bars using mobile devices could soon be left searching for cell service.

The federal government is asking companies how to stop prisoners from making calls on smuggled cellular and smart phones, tablets and other wireless devices.

A notice posted today on a government contracts website says finding a way to stop prisoners from using these devices is of “significant importance.”

The notice does not say how widespread the problem is in Canadian prisons.

But the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation says authorities confiscated 2,800 mobile devices in California jails alone in 2008 and the problem is only going to get worse.

Prisoners were found to be using the devices to intimidate and threaten witnesses, send offensive photos to victims, orchestrate crimes, co-ordinate escapes, bribe prison guards and order retaliation against other inmates.