Inycom, as the exclusive representative in Spain of Berkeley Varitronics Systems (BVS), a leading provider of advanced wireless solutions and products for the local and international telecommunications industry, recently demonstrated the "Bloodhound" mobile phone detector at the GovSec Expo in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2010.
At the expo, the Bloodhound demonstration was conducted live by Jay Miller, DOC IT Manager for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. A field test was scheduled for that same evening to complete the Bloodhound's testing at the Maryland correctional facility. A team of correctional officers was assembled to carry out the mobile phone detection operation on the night of Tuesday, March 23, accompanying Jay Miller.
Of the five confiscated cell phones, two were used for voice calls, one for texting, and the other two were hidden in standby mode. One of the hidden phones was inside an empty brick, covered by a low wall separating the bunk bed area in the dormitory. The second phone was inside an electrical distribution box that had been covered with a solid sheet of metal and secured with a locking screw.
“It only took them two hours to find the five cell phones, which were either in use or hidden in the jail cells in standby mode, ready to make calls,” says Jay Miller.
“Based on these results, we plan to order more Bloodhound cell phone detectors,” adds Assistant Inspector Gary Hornbaker of the Maryland Division of Corrections.
Similar to a handheld Wireless device, the Bloodhound is safe, legal (Bloodhound does not use frequency jammers, which is a violation of FCC regulations), fast, and cost-effective for monitoring and flagging unauthorized cell phones on correctional premises 24/7. The complete Bloodhound unit costs €2,030, which is less expensive than other solutions that require installation across the entire network infrastructure. The device can also be used by a government agency or organization that wants to enforce a “no-Wireless” policy. This could even include schools, hospitals, airlines, etc.
BVS also demonstrated its Bloodhound cell phone detector at the Counter Terrorism Expo in the UK, held April 14-15, 2010.
