Trending Topics

Thousands of cellphones confiscated in Calif. prisons

razorbladephone(sm).jpg

This NYPD photo shows a razor blade (easily) hidden in the battery compartment of a T-Mobile Sidekick. (Handout/NYPD photo)

By Patrick McGreevy
LA Times

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California state prison officials have confiscated 4,130 contraband cellphones this year, more than all those seized in the previous three years combined, according to an internal report released Thursday.

The findings sparked concern among legislators that the proliferation of cellphones in state lockups is a growing security problem.

More than 100 illegal phones were discovered at the California Institution for Men in Chino, including 10 in August, according to the report from Matthew Cate, head of the state prisons system. But he said there is no evidence that inmates used the devices during a riot that occurred there Aug. 8.

Read the full story here.