Mobile jammers, installed to prevent jail inmates from using cellphones on the premises, have been an inconvenience for the public living near jails.
But, this could be a thing of the past with the State Prisons Department going for the FG1 portable security poles, starting with Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru, followed by Mangaluru District Jail.
Director-General of Police (Prisons) H.N. Satyanarayana Rao told presspersons here on Wednesday that the department is aware of problems being caused by mobile jammers in jails to residents of surrounding areas.
Mr. Rao said, “Initially you (the media) used to ask why mobile jammers were not installed in prisons. Now you as well as public, including network operators, ask when the jammers would be deactivated,” he said.
While jammers block cellular signals in a particular location, FG1 poles act in a different way where carrying cell phones/ SIM cards inside the prison could be prevented.
The department has already installed five such poles in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru and is buying 10 more to provide the same to other prisons/ jails including Mangaluru, the DGP said.
Tihar Central Prison in Delhi was the first to get such poles and next are the prisons in Karnataka, Mr. Rao added.
The DGP said FG1 security poles could detect even the smallest amount of metal, including the one present in mobile SIM cards thereby preventing smuggling of such articles inside jails.
Such solutions and the new jammer technology, which is in the offing, could effectively address the issue of security and prevent prisoners from using cellphones.
FG1 works by detecting changes in the ambient magnetic field caused by ferromagnetic objects passing by, thus identifying any weapon as well.
