Summary

Allows the Inspector General of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to monitor cell phone signals and use by prisoners.

Background

Recent spikes in the discovery of cell phones smuggled into prisons /See here and here/ have limited the ability of wardens to monitor prisoner communications with the outside world. The phones have become a form of currency behind bars, and a mechanism encouraging corruption of the correction officers charged with preventing the smuggling. This bill clarifies that prisoners have no expectation of privacy in cellular communication, and gives the Inspector General the right to use electionic monitoring devices to detect and monitor prisoner cell phone use.