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<p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue
of mobile phones in prisons very seriously and is committed to addressing the risks
they present to both the security of prisons and the safety of the public.</p><p>
</p><p>NOMS has implemented a multi-layered approach: to minimise the number of mobile
phones entering prisons, to find phones that do get in and to disrupt mobile phones
that cannot be found. A range of technology has been rolled out to prisons to strengthen
searching and security, including portable mobile phone signal detectors, Body Orifice
Security Scanners (BOSS chairs), high sensitivity metal detecting wands and short
range portable mobile phone blockers.</p><p> </p><p>The adjudication process exists
to allow prison governors to deal with breaches of prison discipline, including possession
of unauthorised items such as mobile telephones.</p><p> </p><p>From centrally held
data, it is not possible to identify those offenders who breached prison discipline
by possessing a mobile phone, were proceeded against and given the punishment of additional
days. The prison adjudication offence details held centrally are not of sufficient
detail to identify the specific breach item - mobile phone possession offences are
grouped with other prohibited items.</p><p> </p><p>Determining if the requested information
is held would require a manual search through all individual prison records where
a breach of prison discipline led to adjudication in respect of possession of a prohibited
item to see if any information is recorded on the type of item. Inspecting each record
to ascertain if there was an adjudication for possession of a mobile phone and how
many additional days were given as a punishment could only be done at disproportionate
cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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