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The National Emergency Alert System test turned out to be a huge success for just about everyone … that is unless you were a prisoner with an illegal cell phone behind bars.<\/p>\n
Millions of cellphone users across the U.S. got an alert Wednesday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and FCC to ensure emergency alerts reach the public at a national level. Phones received both a test message and made a loud alert noise.<\/p>\n
However, the testing system made prisoners hiding phones an easy target for prison guards.<\/p>\n
A New York State Prison official tells us they confiscated two phones at Sing Sing Correctional Facility during the test. Additionally, a source at FCI Coleman Low in Florida says they too confiscated two phones during the emergency test.<\/p>\n
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It’s unclear how many other prisons faced similar circumstances — we called around in Arizona, California, Illinois and others — but you gotta imagine it was a problem nationwide.<\/p>\n
A source in Nevada tells us most of their prisoners were already aware the alert was gonna happen, likely turning their phones off, so they didn’t confiscate any devices.<\/p>\n
When reached for comment, the BOP told us, “The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not elaborate on specific internal security procedures for safety and security reasons.”<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, we’re told phones behind bars have become a growing problem, and officials have implemented new tactics in trying to locate them — including phone-sniffing dogs called “E-Dogs.”<\/p>\n
Something tells us prisoners may become more cautious the next time a public alert rolls around.<\/p>\n