Over 2,000 Cellphones Smuggled Into California Prisons in 2 Months; Prison Guard Union Still Won't Accept Security Scans Without Pay

By Simone Wilson Wed., Mar. 23 2011 at 10:45 AM

Categories: Crime

mobilebehavior.com

Business as usual

That's the bad news. The good news is that California State Senator Alex Padilla pushed a bill to punish cellphone smugglers through its first stage of approval yesterday (his third attempt in the last four years).

Currently, phones are used by jailed bigshots like Charles Manson, the Nuestra Familia gang and many an everyday drug/human trafficker to make sure business doesn't skip a beat while they serve their time. Thanks to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who -- by some backward logic -- wouldn't pass the bill until it was harsher, neither the smuggling or the possession is punishable by law. See: "10,000 Cell Phones Smuggled Into California Prisons in 2010."

But there's an even more powerful force to blame, swaying legislative morality since 1957:

The California prison-guard union, or CCPOA, who demands that guards be paid for the time it would take to scan them for phones -- costing the state millions of dollars it simply doesn't have. At the beginning of February, after an in-depth analysis of the smuggling problem, the Senate Public Safety Committee found that prison guards were among those most at fault:

"All indications are that the primary source of cellphones being smuggled into prisons is prison staff. The committee has been presented no evidence of visitors who are properly screened through metal detectors being responsible for the problem."

Committee Chairwoman Loni Hancock even had the spine to say it out loud yesterday: "These cellphones are being brought in primarily, it appears, by prison people employed by our corrections system. To me this is not only a very egregious public offense, but a breach of public trust."

The real question is, why can't California politicians bypass one measly union? Padilla originally wanted prison guards to be scanned on the way into work for any illegitimate phonage on their person.

But there was no getting past the state's No. 1 political lobbyist and campaign piggybank: the CCPOA. Governor Schwarzenegger received gobs of campaign funding from the group, and Governor Jerry Brown after him.

Thanks to their influential protector, in the heat of California's financial crisis, prison guards are paid for "walk time" -- the time it takes to get from their car to the front door.

Here's yesterday's watered-down version of Padilla's bill, as passed through the Public Safety Committee yesterday. And not a moment too soon: During the first two months of 2011, over 2,000 phones were confiscated in state prisons. (Next, the bill goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sigh.)

Smuggling: Any person, employee or nonemployee who possesses a cell phone with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 per device.
Inmate Possession: An inmate in possession of a cell phone shall be subject to loss of time credits. Time credit lost will not be eligible for restoration.

Visitor Protection: The bill contains language for visitors who inadvertently bring a cell phone into a prison without intent to deliver to an inmate.

Next question: How would the crime be enforced?

CCPOA spokesman JeVaughn Baker says the union is behind the bill in its current form. (And they kind of have to be. How would it look if they weren't?) But in practice, why would prison guards and other prison staff turn in one of their own for partaking in a hugely profitable side-business? A recent State Inspector General report found that phones can go for as much as $1,000 each in the slammer. One corrections officer made $150,000 in a year -- pretty much doubling his salary.

Baker's getting back to us on the issue of enforcement. Until he does, here's some prison cell noir to get you up to speed:

"Cell Phones Flooding to Mexican Mafia Prisoners"
"Charles Manson Cell Phone Prison Call On Tape; Big Killers, Mexican Mafia And 8,675 Criminals Use Smuggled Cells In California Prisons"

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

Tags:

Alex Padilla, California Correctional Peace Officers Association, cell phones, Charles Manson, prison smuggling, Senate Bill 26, Senate Public Safety Committee, unions

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virginia

governor is backed by prison guard union now he is giving our tax paying dollars to illigals.... anyone who will vote for him , he turns his head and they cn do whatever they want... what the hell kind of place is he going to have when the tax paying stupids leave calif ... who will he get to pay these rediculous wages to his buddies....not the illigals,,, maybe the gaurds will help him.. they sure make the $$$$$$$$$ under gov's watch... no questions asked... hell no... punish the prisoners ...not the guilty ones..... the wrong people ARE LOCKED UP!!!!

Mike Lee

Oh crap, it's those evil 'guards' again! Every time I read dribble like this, it makes me feel sick to my stomach! Yeah, there are bad apples in the bunch. Here's a news flash: those of us "guards" who drag our tails to work, often for 16 short-staffed hours at a time, hate the bad apples worse than anyone else! What I rarely see "journalists" like Ms. Wilson write about is how much more dangerous it has become to work in corrections in any capacity since inmates have started using cell phones!

As to the evil union's issue with getting paid for being searched, ask yourself if you'd like being forced to show up 30 minutes earlier to work to be subjected to a search that by it's very nature questions your integrity and then not even be compensated for your time. Somehow, I doubt many folks in any profession would be good with that.

Here's an idea: Let us get past the finger pointing and name calling, put our heads together, and find some workable solutions!

virginia

like put the corrupt guards in jail...I'm for that... seems no one else is though.

virginia

Why in HELL don't you punish the real culprit, money hungary guards.... why are you punishing the prisonors.... The guards are the ones breaking the rules... corrupt... Brown... WHY do you allow this and WHY punish the prisoners and not the guilty $ making GUARDS.. WHAT are you thinking

malibu1369

Look, while this seems to be a rather ridiculous problem, what with convicts with cell phones, "guards" and other staff smuggling them in and a legislature and governor bending over and grabbing their ankles for the CCPOA, there is another side to the story.

The vast majority of cell phone use in prison stems from the desire of inmates to maintain close connections to their outside support network: family, loved ones, friends. The current outrageous prices charged by the pay phone contractor (a cut of which goes to the CDCR) is way more than the cost of maintaining the phones that are often broken, turned off for fun, inaccessible due to lock-downs that line the pockets of the "guards" with "hazard pay" and serve 75 to 100 inmates each during the small amount of time they are available for use. Hmmm, kind of like the number of toilets and showers in our overcrowded prisons.

(Oh, you say, "So What, inmates commit crimes with phones"? Well, chances are you will injure someone or damage property sometime in your life because you drive a motor vehicle. Should we ban you from driving, just on the chance?

Folks, these "convicts" will soon be back in your neighborhood because they will have served their sentence at a prison most likely hundreds of miles from where they lived, from where they committed their crime. If you want them violent and part of the revolving door of prison, keep doing what you are doing at $10,000,000,000 per year (That's 10 billion for you 0 challenged people). It doesn't work, that has been proven time after time. Fact is, during our lifetime nearly 1 out of 7 Californians will experience incarceration of some type.

You may not like "criminals" in your back yard, but know the facts. Every year nearly 150,000 prison criminals are released back into society because they have served their time. Over half are released from a term that was imposed for a technical parole violation. The controlling case for the majority was for a non violent, non sexual crime. Oh, but this group has the highest rate of recidivism. Who has the lowest chance of recidivism? The answer would surprise you. The lowest rate of recidivism is for released murderers (any degree). The number is statistically insignificant. The next lowest is for sexual offenders (any type) at less than 6%. The average rate for the rest of the inmates? 70% Seems you are worried about the wrong people, folks! All figures can be verified on the CDCR website's 2010 Report.

virginia

yeah... the criminals are the ones running this disaster we call a state...including the guilty guards who take $$ for supplying prisones with cell phones,,, then they want to punish the prisoners... lock up the real criminals....

Smiley44

Wow, this is the first post that I completely agree with 100%! Thank you so much for writing this. There are only two things that I feel you left out in the end. First there are many many prisioners that stay up nights on end with a type writer, trying to fight their won cases, because they were wrongly convicted. Usually because their family could not afford a lawyer good enough to fight for them. Second, because these prisions are tryting to stay sane, they need to have their families support. There are so many that have been railroaded through our"justice system" it does amaze me that the prisioners who would likely do well in society are now older, probably having served at least ten years and can never find peace because the ones with LWOP have no hope for any redemtion EVER! Many cases were unfair trails and sentencing was ridiculous for years!!!! My solution, would be they need to give these prisioners a chance. Give them an option, have them sign up for the Army or the Marines, let them see the change thats needed first hand, and why.

Mike Lee

I can find myself in agreement with your final paragraph wherein you point out that our parole system is badly broken. However, the rest of your post is largely left-wing dogma with little factual basis. That anyone could actually believe the average inmate cellphone user is just trying to stay in touch with mom and dad defies belief! I wouldn't say that cellphone usage in prison is 100% for criminal activity but I would have no problem sleeping at night after asserting that the number is well in excess of 80%.

A part of me actually hopes that the technology comes along that allows departments to take sufficient control of cell phone use in prisons to allow the "mom and dad" users to get cell phones. If such a system was perfected, it might be a great penological tool as something to be taken away when inmates break rules and commit crimes in prison (believe it or not, it happens). Further, it would be amusing to me to view the statistics on just how many of these lovely family oriented individuals we are currently incarcerating.

malibu1369

Haha:

"However, the rest of your post is largely left-wing dogma with little factual basis."

And you base your statement on what facts?

virginia

the state local courts are locking up innocent people for years..... all for money.. look and SEE who the real criminals are.

freeandclear

malibu: Common Sense trumps your 'statistics' I hardly imagine ANYONE in prison making kissy poo sounds and 'hows the kids' conversations...and if they are. You are in prison, no phone calls, playboys, tv, drugs, or fun. Your in jail.