CAPE TOWN – In a decisive move to sever the link between inmates and criminal networks, the South African government has confirmed plans to deploy cellphone signal-blocking technology in its correctional facilities.
The initiative, announced by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), aims to halt the use of smuggled mobile phones by prisoners for orchestrating crimes like extortion, robberies, and even contract killings from behind bars.
National Commissioner Samuel Thobakgale confirmed the initiative during a visit to the notoriously overcrowded Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town. The facility, described by Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis as a “command centre for gangsterism,” saw over 10,000 contraband devices seized last year alone, highlighting the scale of the problem.
The project will begin with a pilot phase at five selected prisons, including Pollsmoor, and is expected to be fully implemented before the end of the year. The DCS stated that the advanced jamming equipment is designed to disrupt cellphone reception within prison walls while preventing spillover effects on nearby communities.
“Signal-blocking technology will go a long way in ensuring that criminal activity does not continue to thrive within our prisons,” the DCS said in a statement. Officials emphasised that the technology would target only illicit inmate communications, without interfering with the networks used by prison staff or emergency services.
The rollout forms a key part of wider reforms under Minister Pieter Groenewald, which also encompass tightened security checks, the deployment of body scanners, and inmate labor programs.
However, the move is not without controversy. The technology must comply with South Africa’s tightly regulated Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. Furthermore, human rights groups have raised concerns that the jammers could infringe on prisoners’ fundamental rights to communicate with their families and legal counsel.
If the pilot programme is successful, authorities plan to extend the signal-blocking technology to other high-risk correctional centres across the country, viewing it as a potential game-changer in weakening prison-based criminal networks.
