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New Push To Crack Down On Cell Phones In Prisons

There’s a new push at the state Capitol to keep cell phones out of the hands of inmates. Prison officials say it’s a rapidly growing problem, and inmates use the phones to launder money and harass victims.

Democratic Senator Alex Padilla has introduced a bill that creates harsher penalties for inmates caught with phones, and those who smuggle them in. His legislation makes it a misdemeanor to smuggle a phone into prison. He says the punishment would also include a major fine, which would be a deterrent.

“The fines for people smuggling phones into prison, at five-thousand per device, really translates into 18 or 19-thousand dollars per device with all of the surcharges,” Padilla said. “We do believe that’s a significant enough consequence to make people do more than just think twice about it.”

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Padilla’s bill also includes extra prison time for inmates who use phones to commit crimes. Another Senator has introduced a bill to require random searches of staff and vendors.

Serial killer Charles Manson was recently found with a mobile phone in his California prison cell. Padilla says that shows how out-of- control the problem is.