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Reminds of one time I was interviewing someone and I asked why he had left his previous job. He said they were building a device to block cell phone usage in pr

Reminds of one time I was interviewing someone and I asked why he had left his previous job. He said they were building a device to block cell phone usage in prisons, and the inmates figured out who was making the hardware and slipped word out to their enforcers outside the prison with the name of the manufacturer. Soon all the employees started getting death threats. So, he quit.

MattGaiser 5y ago
I am always shocked to learn just how porous prisons are and why nothing seems to be done about that.
- AniseAbyss 5y ago
  After watching some documentaries about foreign prisons it often seems that the jail is run by the inmates and that the guards are just there to make sure nobody escapes.
  - vkou 5y ago
    It's not ran by the inmates, the guards just have a small source of side income if they 'bend' the rules.
    - MattGaiser 5y ago
      If the inmates employ the guards, they are running it then. Why are inmates allowed currency?
      - lazide 5y ago
        They usually aren’t allowed direct currency. But if they are trading and have a means to reach the outside (guards or visitors), that is rarely a major barrier. If they’re pimping, arranging ‘free visits’ for guards is one way. having a designated money guy outside who handles payments and they just need to authorize so and so to get $10k, that kind of thing, is another. And once you have guards on the payroll, the rules generally have a lot more flexibility.
- burkaman 5y ago
  Inmates need to be able to talk to people outside of prison, nothing should be done about it.
  - cbg0 5y ago
    This allows various crime overlords to stay in power by ordering underlings outside to do their bidding. There's a good reason why phones are not allowed in prison and why phone calls to the outside are monitored, otherwise it would just be a vacation home you can't leave.
    - burkaman 5y ago
      That's true, but it also allows human beings to stay in touch with reality, their families, an outside world that they're eventually going to reenter. Cutting off communication would be a disaster for people inside and outside prison - it would increase recidivism, increase suicide, break up families, mentally destroy prisoners, and likely increase crime overall. It's a terrible idea. I also don't think phone calls are the only thing separating prison from a vacation home.
      - cbg0 5y ago
        Nobody in this thread mentioned cutting off communication, aside from you. One poster mentioned they worked on a "device to block cell phone usage in prisons".
        burkaman 5y ago
        The thread was a story about inmates communicating to people outside prison, then someone saying "I am always shocked to learn just how porous prisons are and why nothing seems to be done about that." I interpreted that as "why isn't anything done about inmates being able to talk to people outside", but I could be wrong.
        ungamedplayer 5y ago
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- datavirtue 5y ago
  I saw a documentary where an inmate was scamming people by placing ads in men's gay magazines. They would ask for money and/or extort them after finding out who they were and where they lived. He amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars using letters and the prison phones in this scam. He had already purchased a house and a car in preparation for his release and saving up to buy his way out prison. A lawyer stole his money and blamed it on his friend and law partner, a judge, who the inmate had murdered (including his wife who was a shoe-in for mayor)...from prison. The lawyer snagged the mayoral seat after she was killed--for a short period until getting caught and sent to prison himself. Apparently prison offers few barriers to conducting business.
- Clubber 5y ago
  Prisons give a sweet exclusive contract to the phone company who charges a unethical amount to the families to talk to prisoners. https://www.businessinsider.com/high-cost-prison-communications-driving-debt-racial-wealth-gap-2021-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/high-cost-prison-communicati... Just another example of absolute corruption and how our representative democracy doesn't work for us.
dehrmann 5y ago
In the US, isn't the legality of jammers very questionable? It might be less bad somewhere federally owned, but a state prison interfering with signals might be violating FCC rules. Alternatively, you could build the prison like a Faraday cage.

MattGaiser 5y ago

I am always shocked to learn just how porous prisons are and why nothing seems to be done about that.

AniseAbyss 5y ago
After watching some documentaries about foreign prisons it often seems that the jail is run by the inmates and that the guards are just there to make sure nobody escapes.
- vkou 5y ago
  It's not ran by the inmates, the guards just have a small source of side income if they 'bend' the rules.
  - MattGaiser 5y ago
    If the inmates employ the guards, they are running it then. Why are inmates allowed currency?
    - lazide 5y ago
      They usually aren’t allowed direct currency. But if they are trading and have a means to reach the outside (guards or visitors), that is rarely a major barrier. If they’re pimping, arranging ‘free visits’ for guards is one way. having a designated money guy outside who handles payments and they just need to authorize so and so to get $10k, that kind of thing, is another. And once you have guards on the payroll, the rules generally have a lot more flexibility.
burkaman 5y ago
Inmates need to be able to talk to people outside of prison, nothing should be done about it.
- cbg0 5y ago
  This allows various crime overlords to stay in power by ordering underlings outside to do their bidding. There's a good reason why phones are not allowed in prison and why phone calls to the outside are monitored, otherwise it would just be a vacation home you can't leave.
  - burkaman 5y ago
    That's true, but it also allows human beings to stay in touch with reality, their families, an outside world that they're eventually going to reenter. Cutting off communication would be a disaster for people inside and outside prison - it would increase recidivism, increase suicide, break up families, mentally destroy prisoners, and likely increase crime overall. It's a terrible idea. I also don't think phone calls are the only thing separating prison from a vacation home.
    - cbg0 5y ago
      Nobody in this thread mentioned cutting off communication, aside from you. One poster mentioned they worked on a "device to block cell phone usage in prisons".
      - burkaman 5y ago
        The thread was a story about inmates communicating to people outside prison, then someone saying "I am always shocked to learn just how porous prisons are and why nothing seems to be done about that." I interpreted that as "why isn't anything done about inmates being able to talk to people outside", but I could be wrong.
        ungamedplayer 5y ago
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
datavirtue 5y ago
I saw a documentary where an inmate was scamming people by placing ads in men's gay magazines. They would ask for money and/or extort them after finding out who they were and where they lived. He amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars using letters and the prison phones in this scam. He had already purchased a house and a car in preparation for his release and saving up to buy his way out prison. A lawyer stole his money and blamed it on his friend and law partner, a judge, who the inmate had murdered (including his wife who was a shoe-in for mayor)...from prison. The lawyer snagged the mayoral seat after she was killed--for a short period until getting caught and sent to prison himself. Apparently prison offers few barriers to conducting business.
Clubber 5y ago
Prisons give a sweet exclusive contract to the phone company who charges a unethical amount to the families to talk to prisoners. https://www.businessinsider.com/high-cost-prison-communications-driving-debt-racial-wealth-gap-2021-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/high-cost-prison-communicati... Just another example of absolute corruption and how our representative democracy doesn't work for us.

dehrmann 5y ago

In the US, isn't the legality of jammers very questionable? It might be less bad somewhere federally owned, but a state prison interfering with signals might be violating FCC rules. Alternatively, you could build the prison like a Faraday cage.