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| Cell phone-sniffing dogs used to crack down on N.J. prisoners |
| By nj.com - MaryAnn Spoto |
| Published: 12/12/2011 |
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TRENTON — His name is Ernie. In his job at the Department of Corrections, Ernie and eight co-workers are hailed as unsung heroes in the fight to keep prisoners from ordering hits or running drug gangs from behind bars. Ernie is a cell phone-sniffing dog. The 4-year-old yellow Labrador and other members of his canine team are responsible for finding about 85 percent of the cell phones confiscated from prisoners, corrections officials say. He is part of the state’s stepped-up effort to crack down on cell phone use. For the fiscal year that ended in June, the number of smuggled cell phones confiscated from state prisoners dropped 20 percent after rising sharply in recent years, new figures show. "Cell phones are particularly dangerous because of the connection to the outside world and some of the really terrible things that have been done with them," said state Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan. "They’ve ordered hits from inside the jail. They’ve intimidated witnesses … (while) continuing to run drug operations, gang operations from behind prison. It undermines the whole credibility of the criminal justice system." From July 2009 to June 2010, corrections officials seized 331 cell phones, more than double what was confiscated during the previous year. For the year ending this June 30, the figure dropped to 266. Last year’s rise prompted Lanigan to establish a task force that pinpointed how to attack the problem. One solution was to expand the use of cell phone-detection dogs, first deployed three years ago. Now nine dogs — seven yellow Labradors and two German shepherds — and their handlers travel to prisons seven days a week to conduct routine sweeps and respond to officers who suspect the contraband is somewhere in the building, said corrections Sgt. Frank Martin. Trained to sniff out the gases emitted by phone batteries, the canines — at the instruction of their handlers — work a room clockwise and bark, scratch, sit or give some other indication that they’ve hit on something. They’re capable of detecting smells 15 feet over their heads. Often, their handlers hoist them onto shelves or bunks so they can sniff out items in hiding places such as vents, said officer James Chmielewski, Ernie’s handler. "The inmates are real ingenious at hiding things," said Martin. Read More. |
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