Prison authorities looking at technology to block phone signals

The Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has revealed that prison authorities are currently considering a number of technologies aimed at blocking mobile phone signals in and out of prisons.

Ms Fitzgerald said that the provision of mobile phone blockers would limit the illegal possession and use of mobile phones within prisons “and reduce the threat that it poses to society both inside and outside of prisons”.

Ms Fitzgerald confirmed the possible deployment of the "jammers" as new figures show that inmates at Mountjoy Prison are far more likely to possess mobile phones illegally than any other prison across the prison network.

The new figures provided by Ms Fitzgerald show that the prison is the main blackspot for mobile phone use by prisoners.

Seizures of mobile phones there last year accounted for 30 per cent of all phones seized across all prisons, in spite of Mountjoy accounting for only 14 per cent of the prison population.

Prison authorities have been clamping down on mobile use by prisoners over the past number of years, with the 728 phones seized last year significantly down from the 1,718 phones seized in 2010.

Criminal offence

The possession of a mobile phone in prison is a criminal offence under the Prisons Act 2007. A prisoner found to be in possession of a mobile phone is liable to be dealt with under the prison disciplinary system and the matter referred to An Garda Síochána for investigation and possible prosecution.

The figures show that Mountjoy accounted for 228 of the 728 phones seized.

However, the number seized at Mountjoy is an improvement on the 742 mobiles seized at the prison in 2010.

The clampdown last year resulted in the number of mobile phones seized at the country’s only high security prison at Portlaoise increasing more than four-fold from 11 to 52. In 2012, there were only three mobiles seized at Portlaoise, which houses some of the country’s most dangerous criminals.

The figures show that 109 mobiles were seized at St Patrick’s Institution, 55 at the Mountjoy training unit, 66 at Loughan House, 59 at the Midlands Prison, 50 at Cloverhill and 44 at Wheatfield.

The figures show that only three phones were seized at Cork Prison with six and five seized at the Dóchas centre and Shelton Abbey respectively.

The Minister confirmed that 38 were seized at Castlerea and 18 at Limerick, with no mobile phones recovered at Arbour Hill.

‘Screening and searching’

In a written response to Fine Gael's David Stanton on the issue, Ms Fitzgerald said: "Through a vigorous approach to screening and searching, the Operational Support Group continues to recover numerous mobile phones and components.

“The measures currently in place to prevent the use of mobile phones by prisoners include metal detectors and other screening equipment at the point of entry to prisons, the use of active canine detection teams in recovering same from vehicles and buildings, as well as random and intelligence-led targeted searching of prisoners and locations within the prison estate.