Family on the Phone

Our cell phones can make life so very convenient. They allow us to be able to call for directions if we are lost on a road trip, keep us in touch with friends and family members, let us take cool snapshots while we are on the go  and even give us access to the world wide web.

But what if a cell phone got into the hands of a prison inmate? It might make things a lot easier for him to. With unrestricted and unsupervised  access to the outside world and the internet, an inmate could harass crime victims, plot escape plans, or conduct further criminal activities.

Disturbing as it may be, all these things are a reality. Cel phones are sometimes smuggled into prisons by family members or friends of the inmates. They are also occasionally sold or traded to the prisoners by unscrupulous prison staff. They are even sometimes just tossed in over prison walls.

It is currently illegal for prisons to scramble cell phone signals as this may interfere with legitimate communication or emergency 911 calls from the prison. Electronic devices are used in some prisons to uncover contraband cell phones but in a growing number of states, specially trained dogs are being brought in to deal with the problem.

The dogs can sniff out the phones even if they are well-hidden or taken apart. Phones, chargers, and batteries have all been discovered by these cell -savvy canines. Often, the prisoners will ditch the phones when they know the dogs are coming because they don’t want to be caught with them. There is even an account of a prisoner hiding a phone in a jar of peanut butter to throw the dogs off the trail. It didn’t work.

Amazingly, the dogs can be trained to detect the specific odor of cell phones and their components. The dogs know the difference between the phones and other electronic gadgets as well.

Here are some other articles about this intriguing topic.

• Dogs Sniffing Out Illegal Cell Phones at Monroe Prison
• Dogs Bust Inmates Using Cell Phones to Carry Out Crimes
• Dogs Sniff Out Inmates’ Illegal Cell Phones

My dog has a great nose. I’ll bet he could be trained to do something like this. How about yours?

photo credit: Tokyo Butterfly

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