Pilot Project to help identify Cellphones in Oklahoma Prison

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Some Oklahoma state prison inmates will be required to wear ankle monitors as part of a pilot project intended to stop the illegal use of cellphones in prisons, according to the state Department of Corrections.

The 60-day project will begin in October at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center where male inmates are processed into the state prison system.

The inmates will be required to wear ankle monitors that detect cell phone signals inside the prison and alert staff members.

Prison officials have said inmates use cellphones to run drug operations outside the prisons and to coordinate violent attacks, including one last year that left one inmate dead and dozens injured after fights broke out at several prisons statewide.

Gov. Kevin Stitt in September issued an executive order directing his cabinet secretaries to work with the Department of Corrections to find ways to address the illegal use of cellphones in prisons.