http://people.howstuffworks.com/prison-telecommunication3.htm
Cell Phones in Prison: Contraband
Another way for inmates to dodge prison eavesdropping is to gain their own phones. Prison authorities have found it's surprisingly easy for prison inmates to get their hands on working cell phones (with chargers to boot). One tipoff came from an inmate's mother who wrote to a warden in a Texas prison complaining that her son's cell phone reception was bad [source: Butterfield].
Cell phone accessibility has become a serious problem for prisons -- in addition to the crimes that inmates are known to commit over the phone. Gangs can organize themselves far more easily when members in prison have cell phones. For example, in 2006, incarcerated gang leaders in Brazil orchestrated large, synchronized riots using their cell phones, reportedly in order to prove their influence even behind bars [source: Reel]. The gang caused uprisings in more than 70 prisons, and meanwhile, members outside of the prison caused riots and wreaked havoc on public busses and police stations. Gangs transcend prison bars in the U.S., too, where gang leaders have been able to wield their power from inside prison walls -- even ordering gang murders [source: Dolan].
So, how do inmates get their hands on cell phones? Apparently, visitors and corrupt prison guards have been known to furnish these phones to inmates.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/17/tabletsforinmates/2651727/
As of August 2013
6 states were allowing prisoners to purchase tablets. Eventually, this will probably be the norm.jmo
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/internet-access-prisoners_739266.html
Current rules permit
all federal inmates and most state prisoners to send and receive emails through special, monitored systems. Starting late last year, some federal prisons began allowing inmates to buy MP3 music players and download songs to fill them. These systems​​financed entirely by charging inmates per message and per song​​work better than what they replaced. Unlike physical mail, email cant be used to smuggle contraband. It also can be monitored automatically and doesnt require staff time to distribute. The electronic alternatives also appear to be more secure. There are dozens of cases of inmates running criminal operations by phone or mail, but thus far, no documented cases involving email since the U.S. Bureau of Prisons began its pilot program eight years ago.
Just was curious how all this technology is playing out in prisons.
