Corrections_Today_May_June_2023_Vol.85_No.3

NEWS&VIEWS

mailroom staff, digitized mail can be cost-efficient.

their agency operational use case. For smaller facilities, mass shakedowns of housing units and recreation areas using metal detectors or systems that detect magnetic objects may sufficiently deter forbidden cell phone usage. “The most promising strategy against illicit drone activity is a multilayered approach that merges sensor capabilities to overcome the performance gaps of an individual technology.”

– The growth, and grow

ing sophistication, of drone technology. – The multi-faceted threat drones pose to the correctional system. – Rapidly evolving technology to detect drones. – Key policy and practice considerations for leaders of cor rectional facilities and systems. Actual and perceived legal con straints on detection tools stand in the way of progress on the deployment of drone detection technology. Capa bilities for detecting and mitigating drones may implicate federal criminal laws, including those related to the surveillance of, access to, and damage to computers and damage to aircraft. Further, the rapid sophistication of drone technology challenges develop ers to keep up with current trends. Efforts to defeat drones that carry contraband face additional barriers, including: – Uncertainty about the extent of the threat posed by drones because our ability to mea sure drone capabilities is still emerging. – Many current detection tech nologies are military-oriented and may not fit the operational needs, budgets, and restraints of the corrections field. (For example, to date, it has not been a requirement or stan dard practice for a correctional facility to have a manager of air domain awareness and countermeasures.) – The penal system has not yet developed operations standards to guide drone detection and abatement.

Detecting and managing cell phone contraband: – Cell phone technology advances continuously and makes detec tion and deterrence a challenge. – A multilayered system of defense in a correctional facil ity can systematically defend against the flow and use of cell phone contraband. – Detection technology, such as radio frequency detection, that can locate a cell phone signal or recognize components that are trafficked at multiple loca tions within a facility shows the greatest promise for limiting cell phone contraband. – New technologies, such as micro-jamming and managed access systems, can disrupt and disable cell phone signals, but they have significant disadvan tages. They can conflict with federal policies, they are costly, and targeted phones may still function with Wi-Fi or other communication methods. – SIM card exchanges are in creasingly used as a means of communication that circum vents the need for cellular communication. Currently, no technologies comprehensively disable SIM cards. Existing technologies in this space work well in theory but often have limitations when applied to the real-world setting of a high security correctional facility. – Corrections leaders must deploy technologies to deter contra band cell phone use that fit

— Neal Parsons

A closer look at drones and contraband

As the specter of drones deliver ing contraband grows so does the need for new technology to detect illicit drone flights and apprehend drone operators. Research by NIJ’s Criminal Justice Testing and Evaluation Con sortium offers new insights on:

20 — May/June 2023 Corrections Today