Handheld device, BV Bloodhound, can detect cell phone use in prisons.

Berkley Variatronics has reduced the hardware necessary for mobile cell phone detection from a fixed radio system to a two-pound, hand-held device. The special detector is ideal for areas that have bans on wireless communications, such as high security zones and prisons.

The BV Bloodhound features a screen, a few operations buttons and an omni-directional antenna. It can pick up signals from PCS, GSM and CDMA cellular bands, even if the phone is only turned on but not in use. Signal strength is noted through both visual and aural alerts. The equipment is powered by a battery that can last 4-5 hours.

Illicit cell phone use in Texas prisons continues to be an issue, with prisoners conducting criminal activities from with jail cells. In Ocrober 2008 a Texas death-row inmate used a smuggled cell phone threaten the life of Texas State Sen. John Whitmire.

The Bloodhound is currently undergoing field tests. It is expected to be widely available in January 2010, at a cost of less than $2,000.

The image of tough law enforcement in Texas has been popularized for well over a century. For the past 25 years in particular, the attitude had been to incarcerate those accused of even petty and misdemeanor crimes, leading to a statewide prison population the size of the entire federal prison system. A bi-partisan legislative effort has begun to change that situation. Treatment programs are being implemented that, according to the US Justice Department, has slowed the growth of the Texas prison population.

State Representative Jerry Madden (R) and State Senator John Whitmire (D) collaborated on a 'reinvestment movement' that uses state funds to provide drug, alcohol and mental health treatment and rehabilitation. Texas lawmakers seem to have realized the unwieldy cost of maintaining a huge prison system and the increasingly impractical approach to crime of simply building more prison space.

Texas prison admissions increased by .04% in 2008, well below the annual average of 3% that occurred during each of the previous 8 years. The Texas Department of Corrections adds that cell blocks are being vacated at such a rate that prison population has stopped growing and actually declined by 1,050 inmates. Texas is also showing a significant, 25%, drop in parole violations. This information has led to the scrapping of plans to build three new prisons.

While the number of people in Texas exceeds the national average of 504 per 100,000 in population, the figures have dropped from 669 to 639 per 100,000. In contrast, between 1985 and 2005 the prison population grew 300% and Texas spent $2.3 billion building new facilities.

Research showed that use of alternative treatment programs rather than incarceration for certain offenders allowed the state to focus on more serious criminals. It would cost the state half a billion dollars to house new prisoners, and only half that amount to divert some offenders into treatment programs.

Rep. Madden is facing competition in his re-election bid and the issue of his approach to crime could be pivotal. He states that Texans will hopefully see that

"being tough and smart on crime is a better utilization of the taxpayer dollar."

An inmate being held in the Burnet County Jail, northwest of Austin, escaped last Sunday. Authorities say that they are searching for Nuana Fuentes-Sanchez who went missing during a recreational break. The Burnet County Sheriff and investigators believe that someone distracted a jailer and Fuentes-Sanchez climbed to the jail roof and slid down a drain pipe.


Because Fuentes-Sanchez is a Salvadoran national, border officials have been alerted. The escapee was being held in the central Texas jail in lieu of $200,000 bond. He and four others had been charged with aggravated robbery that occurred in April.

Fuentes-Sanchez' fingerprints were found at a burglarized house in Williamson County the day after his escape. He reportedly stole food, clothing and a 22-caliber handgun. The house is 20 miles from the Burnet County jail. The Texas Rangers, the Department of Public Safety and more than 40 county law enforcement officers are searching for Fuentes-Sanchez. They have found evidence as far south as Hays county and have said that, if caught, he will be returned to Burnet County, but will likely face charges in Williamson County as well.

Jail officials have not released the name or any other information of the correctional officer who was in charge of recreation. The jail is run by Southwestern Correctional LLC and the officers who work there are not county employees.
The jail holds up to 587 inmates and has never had an escape before.
Fuentes-Sanchez, 23, is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. The clothes he stole include blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a Texas Star Hockey cap.

On Thursday morning, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a plan to send 2,100 inmates to four Texas county jails for six months. The effort to reduce overcrowding in the Harris County jail system will cost up to $16.5 million.


While the new plan will cost the county about $5 more per inmate per day than a current agreement with Louisiana jails to house up to 1,800 Texas criminals, the higher costs are expected to be offset by reducing overtime pay for jailers. In addition, the $38 per day per inmate charge from Louisiana jails does not include medical and transportation costs, and inmate transfers are limited to minimum security prisoners only.