CA Prisons and Facebook

From: http://www.tecca.com/news/2011/08/10/california-prison-facebook/

 

California prison system cracks down on inmates through Facebook

Social networking is big, even from behind bars

by Mike Wehner | Last updated 7:13PM EDT on August 10, 2011

With gang violence and overcrowding a constant issue in the California prison system, you might not think of inmate Facebook use as a major problem. However, convicts logging on to the social network has become such a large concern that the California Department of Corrections has asked Facebook employees to help them crack down.

The state is now working closely with the California-based social network to delete inmate accounts that have been updated since that person was imprisoned. Convicts aren't allowed to have unmonitored contact with the outside world, and by utilizing Facebook and other social networks, law enforcement fears that criminal activity can still be carried out, even while the inmate remains behind bars.

California prisons have a problem with contraband. In just the first half of 2011, over 7,000 mobile phones were confiscated from inmates. It is against prison rules to have such a device, but it's not illegal, and once a phone makes it into the prison population it often changes hands among convicts. The inmates can use these unauthorized devices to log on to Facebook, where they can update their status, and contact friends and family. NBC reports that one prisoner, who had been convicted of child molestation, used Facebook to harass his former victim from inside prison walls.

By determining which prisoners have been regularly visiting the social network, prison officials can hopefully determine the owners of the illegal mobile devices, and squash the problem at its root. However, until the source of the contraband phones — which is often, surprisingly enough, prison employees — is taken care of, the problem is unlikely to go away.

(Source)