March 26, 2025
(Anchorage, AK) – Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor joined a bipartisan coalition of 30 attorneys general, calling on Congress to pass federal legislation allowing states to deploy cell phone jamming systems in prisons. The bill aims to disrupt inmates’ ability to orchestrate crimes from behind bars using smuggled cell phones.
“Giving states the authority and discretion to prevent those who are incarcerated from committing further crimes while balancing the need for the Alaska Department of Corrections to use cell phones within their facilities is a win for public safety in Alaska,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.
The coalition’s letter to Congress highlights how inmates exploit contraband phones to:
- Direct drug trafficking operations
- Orchestrate violence inside and outside prison walls
- Run sophisticated fraud schemes preying on vulnerable citizens
- Intimidate witnesses and terrorize victims’ families
- Plot escape attempts endangering law enforcement and the public
Federal law bans states from using cell phone jamming technology, leaving correctional facilities defenseless against an escalating threat. Carefully designed to avoid disrupting emergency signals like 9-1-1, HR 2350 and S 1137 would grant states the authority to deploy targeted jamming systems within prisons.
“This is not a partisan issue—it is a matter of public safety,” the letter stresses—noting the bipartisan urgency of the issue. A 2020 survey of 20 state corrections departments uncovered 25,840 contraband cell phones in a single year, a stark reminder of the scale of the crisis.
Alaska joined the effort led by Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti and the attorneys general of Georgia, North Carolina, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia stand united in calling on Congress to act decisively and pass this critical legislation in 2025.
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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.
