MORE than 1500 mobile phones have been found in Scotland’s prisons in the last four years, the Justice Secretary has confirmed.
Already in 2017, some 285 handsets have been taken off inmates.
Michael Matheson shared the shock statistics as he appeared in front of MSPs yesterday, asking them to back government plans to force networks to stop mobile phones working behind bars.
He told Holyrood’s Justice Committee: “Let me be clear, the unauthorised use of mobile phones in prison presents a range of serious risks to the security of prisons and to the safety of the public.
“They can be used to plan escape or indiscipline, or to conduct serious organised crime, including drug imports and serious violence, from behind bars.”
Matheson said the changes would allow the Scottish Prison Service to apply for a court order to use new “IMSI catcher” technology which mimics a phone tower.
It can then give the guards enough information to have the phone blocked, stopping it from connecting to a service provider even if a different SIM card is inserted.
He added that, given their compact size, it was relatively hard to detect phones being smuggled into jails: “The challenges posed by unauthorised mobile phones and their component parts in prison and young offender institutions is not insignificant.
“Component parts such as SIM cards are easily concealed. While we may have been able to recover more than 1500 mobile phones or component parts since 2013, more will escape detection.”
The Justice Secretary said: “We remain committed however to minimising the number of mobile phones entering prisons, to find phones and for those who have got them to block phones to make sure they are not able to access the network.
“With these provisions the courts will also be able to set in place a process to remove particular phones from the network. This will render them worthless and stop prisoners using those phones to engage in criminal activity from prison permanently.
“This will help the police and prison authorities to maintain the security of our prisons and the safety of our communities.”
He added: “The successful disabling of a mobile phone will put it beyond use and will seriously disrupt the activities of those individuals, including those involved in serious and organised crime who would seek to extend their criminal activity, threats or presence beyond the walls of our prisons.”
The Government has been under pressure to do take action on the number of mobile phones inside prisons. Footage of prisoners taking drugs and posing nude has appeared on social media.
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