In order to strengthen the implementation of the ban on mobile phones in prisons, the relevant departments will require communication companies to prohibit the use of unauthorized communication equipment. The measure would be legislated under one of the felonies in the law.

Warden Andrei said: “Although the previous series of security measures did not work and increased the legitimate use of communication equipment, the introduction of this new policy will inevitably increase the possibility of solving this problem. Once the identified movement is blocked devices, we can further reassure victims and stop criminal activity faster and on a larger scale than ever before.”

The measure means that once a new generation of detection equipment detects an unauthorized mobile phone or SIM card, prison authorities can go through the normal sequence of pleas to the court to ask the telecommunications company to disconnect the detected device.

Banning the use of mobile devices in prisons has been included in the Act since 2007. Relevant departments have taken various measures to enhance the enforcement of the rule, including body searches, full-body scans, borrowing ultraviolet equipment, and using metal detectors. According to judicial officials, a total of 7,451 mobile phones and SIM cards were seized in prisons in 2013. The warden said the legal use of mobile phones in prisons can lead to violence and chaos, and even allow serious organised crime groups to continue their criminal activities, such as drug smuggling.

In 2012, the ban on cell phone use in prisons also included cell phone jammers. However, temporary practice has proved that this measure is very difficult to implement. Due to the process of implementing prison signal shielding, other buildings around the prison are often affected together.