FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Eugene DePasquale D-York www.pahouse.com/DePasquale

DePasquale bill would create K-9 Cell Phone Detection Program

HARRISBURG, Jan. 21 – State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, said he plans to introduce legislation that would require the Department of Corrections to establish a K-9 Cell Phone Detection Program.

"It may be a lesser-known fact, but contraband cell phones in prisons have become a major issue," DePasquale said. "They've become easier to smuggle due to technological advances that make them more compact and less detectable. Possession of illegal cell phones by inmates poses a serious and imminent danger to the general public because they allow prisoners to continue criminal enterprises – including crimes against witnesses and other dangerous crimes – while incarcerated."

DePasquale said the instrument currently used to detect illegal cell phones, the Bodily Orifice Security Scanner, often fails to identify a majority of these devices because they have been smuggled in by both visitors and guards. Due to concerns, the Maryland Division of Corrections established a program for detecting illegal cell phones by training drug-sniffing K-9s to search out these devices, which has resulted in the detection of thousands of "black market" cell phones.

DePasquale's legislation would require the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to establish a K-9 Cell Phone Detection Program similar to that administered by the Maryland Division of Corrections.

"It is my hope that the creation of this program will prevent criminals from continuing their illegal activities while confined to our state correctional institutions and further ensure the safety of our citizens," DePasquale said.

Several other states, including Virginia and New Jersey, as well as Canadian Border Services, also have contacted the Maryland Division of Corrections for their assistance in establishing similar programs.

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