ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley plans Friday to unveil a new cellphone security system at the Baltimore City Detention Center.
The technology automatically blocks calls from all cellphones inside the building, except a small number of phones assigned to employees. It also allows any phone to call 911.
It's a misdemeanor to smuggle a cellphone into a Maryland correctional facility. In 2007, an inmate used a cellphone to arrange the killing of a Baltimore County witness.
State corrections spokesman Rick Binetti says the system has been up and running since Dec. 30. The facility has been tweaking it since then.
O'Malley's proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes money to install similar systems at two more Baltimore corrections facilities. Binetti says the Metropolitan Transition Center already has one in place.
