<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="center">Rep. Mark Sanford, who was the former South Carolina governor, is urging the Federal Communications Commission to jam the signals of cellphones that get illegally smuggled into prison.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;You could make a real difference here,&rdquo; wrote Sanford to the FCC&rsquo;s ;Chairman Ajit Pai last week. &ldquo;In fact, there are very few things in domestic public policy that entail life and death itself. This issue does, and your actions here could literally save lives and make a profound difference.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although more than 7,200 cellphones were detained at South Carolina prisons last year, inmates are still getting a hold of these devices and are using them to plot criminal activities with the outside world.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One prisoner was even able to plan an escape with the help of a cellphone. Earlier this month, Jimmy Causey managed to escape from the maximum-security prison in South Carolina for three days, but was eventually caught near Austin, Texas.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not only did Causey use a smuggled phone, he had a drone deliver the tools he used to cut through the fences at the Lieber Correctional Institution. ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Currently, the FCC prohibits the state from using technology needed to jam cellphone signals. Back in 2010, Sanford and Correction Capt. Robert Johnson ;promoted a petition to start a pilot signal jamming program, but the FCC received tremendous pressure from cellphone companies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Despite the clear danger illegal cellphones present, the ;FCC ;caved in to industry special interests and refused to allow South Carolina to carry out its proposed pilot program,&rdquo; ;said Sanford.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These companies are afraid the jamming will impact legal users&rsquo; phone signals and could interfere with emergency phone calls.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fast forward to 2017 and Sanford has said that illegal cellphone use in prisons has gotten much worse. In June, a dozen prisoners in South Carolina were caught being part of a methamphetamine ring run and used smuggled cellphones to carry out the crime. Before that, six correctional officers were attacked during an attempt to confiscate an inmate&rsquo;s cellphone.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sanford is hoping that the recent crimes by inmates done with smuggled cellphones won&rsquo;t go unnoticed.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;This significant threat to public safety continues to grow, with more phones being seized in prisons each year as potential solutions have languished due to the lack of ;FCC ;action and opposition by powerful special interests,&rdquo; ;said Sanford &ldquo;Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to seeing you on the Hill in the not-too-distant future.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Author&rsquo;s note:</strong> This would be an easy fix and would stop criminals from communicating and operating their illegal empires. These individuals were removed from the real world for a reason, but technology is keeping them connected. Ironically, technology could also be the solution. ;</p>
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