The problem of cell phones smuggled into prisons, where they're used for conducting all sorts of less than legal activities, has become quite a serious one over the past couple of years, and, for this reason, the need for an effective countermeasure has become a lot more dire. And that's exactly the type of device the people over at Berkeley Varitronics Systems have managed to develop in the shape of the Bloodhound cell phone detector.

Initially announced back in December 2009, the Bloodhound has recently gone through a successful field trial at one of the top ten largest county correctional facilities in the US, which houses 1,300 inmates (both men and women) and employs more than 400 security officers, as well as administration staff. Security officers and BVS discretely walked the halls of the correctional facility with the Bloodhound cell phone detector to pinpoint in real-time the exact location of contraband cell phones in use.

"The field-test was successful as we noted illegal cell phone activity rather quickly," said Scott Schober, President and CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems. "Utilizing the cell phone detector's high-speed scanning receiver and Direction Finding Antenna, the Bloodhound detected cell phone activity in areas where it was strictly forbidden. Surprisingly there were even cell phones detected in the cafeteria, which is prohibited."

According to the company, The Bloodhound cell phone detector is a wireless, handheld, safe, legal, quick and cost-effective way to monitor and pinpoint unauthorized cell phones within correctional facilities 24 hours a day. Furthermore, this solution is a lot more easy to use than some of its alternatives, such as specially trained K-9 units or cell-phone jamming (a practice seriously looked down onto by pretty much everyone, including the CTIA).

The complete Bloodhound unit costs $1,800 and can also be utilized by government agencies that want to enforce a 'no wireless policy.'


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