Hundreds of mobile phones have been seized following prison inspections, confirmed outgoing Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt. Further measures will be implemented with new detectors and signal jamming tests, Sudinfo reported on Monday.
The minister described the issue as a significant problem. "Searches for mobile phones and smartphones are conducted constantly in all penitentiary institutions through targeted 'sweeping' actions," said Van Tigchelt (Open VLD). This technique detects if a device is present in a cell.
On average, more than 300 mobile phones are found each year, in addition to those discovered during regular penitentiary system activities.
This year, that average has already been surpassed. By the end of October, 380 smartphones had been seized through sweeping actions.
The minister announced that the Directorate-General of Penitentiary Institutions has purchased 22 new mobile phone detection devices. These devices will be delivered soon and are capable of locating the newest mobile phones.
To combat inmates using mobile phones or smartphones, Van Tigchelt expressed a preference for jamming systems. These systems will be tested in a Belgian prison starting in January.
"We plan to concentrate high-value targets in some prisons and organise signal jamming," he explained to the Justice Committee. This pilot project aims to familiarise officials with the technology and test its effectiveness before extending it to other prisons.
