Correctional Services cracks down on prison cellphone smuggling

MINISTER of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald says his department has tightened security measures to curb the flow of contraband cellphones into prisons.

- HOPE NTANZI [e-mail]

This comes in response to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament Janho Engelbrecht, who asked what steps were being taken to stop inmates from accessing illicit devices and how officials who collude in smuggling would be held accountable.

Groenewald said the department was applying a range of daily security measures aimed at preventing inmates from obtaining banned items.

He said the department “has implemented various measures on a daily basis that strengthen security through conducting intensive searches on inmates, staff and visitors, including contractors, to prevent smuggling of contraband such as cellphones from entering correctional facilities using metal detectors, body scanners, X-ray machines, CCTVs, sni ing dogs and pat-downs searches etc.”

He explained that internal controls had been strengthened through surprise cell searches and the gathering of intelligence information to encourage both inmates and staff to report smuggling activities.