National emergency alert system ‘outed prisoners hiding phones

The national emergency alert system test exposed prisoners hiding phones behind bars and made them easy targets for guards, as millions received test messages with a loud alert noise Wednesday. 

Prison officials across the U.S. confiscated illegal cell phones during the emergency test conducted to ensure that the government’s alerts reach the public, as reported by TMZ. 

A state prison official reported that two phones were confiscated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, and guards at FCI Coleman Law in Florida similarly seized two phones after the blaring noise from the alert. 

The test was conducted across the country to assess the effectiveness of the government’s mass communication options. 

It’s unknown how many prisoners’ phones were confiscated nationwide, as the Federal Bureau of Prisons said it ‘does not elaborate on specific internal security procedures for safety and security reasons.’ 

A source in Nevada said prisoners likely turned their phones off before the test, as they were already aware of the alert was going to happen. 

The prison did not confiscate any phones probably because the prisoners didn’t turn their phones on until later that day. 

The test is conducted over a 30-minute window, meaning they should have gotten the message if they turned their phones back on within the next 30 minutes.  

 Federal prohibits prisoners from having cell phones behind bars, which has become an escalating problem in the country. 

Inmates who are found to possess a cell phone could be charged with a Class E felony. 

The Tennessee Department of Correction said the felony is ‘punishable by fine’, adding that ‘a fine of $3,000 will be imposed upon offenders who repeatedly violate this law,’ 

Corrections Commissioner Tony Parker said: ‘Contraband cellphones are a significant security threat … that leads to criminal conspiracies between people inside our correctional environment and those on the outside.’ 

Inmates could use their phones for drug trafficking activities, as evidenced by last year’s conviction of 21 defendants involved in a drug trafficking operation led by inmates inside an Oklahoma prison.

They could also run scams with contraband cellphones behind prison walls, as the Mashall Project reported in 2019 when prisoners ran an elaborate sextortion scam from Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in South Carolina. 

Inmates posed as underage girls on dating sites who then attempted to blackmail men who responded to their lures. 

The scheme eventually caused the suicide of a 24-year-old veteran who had served in Afghanistan. 

Prison officials and some federal agencies have proposed purchasing more advanced technologies to top illegal cellular and messaging from prison.