Cell phone detection BVS helps U.K. prisons detect cell phones

Berkeley Varitronics Systems (BVS) has made quite a splash in recent weeks announcing a new partnership to distribute its cell phone detection technology in the United Kingdom, adding several options to its line of multi-band transmitters, and teaming up with Los Angeles Laker Andrew Goudelock.

BVS’s line of cell phone detection equipment has helped prison authorities crack down on the increasing use of smuggled cell phones among inmates in the United States and now its technology is heading overseas to the United Kingdom.

The company recently announced its partnership with L&G to distribute its line of cell phone detection equipment throughout the United Kingdom.

“We are pleased to add L&G to our expanding international sales force. Their experience and familiarity with the correctional industry will complement our cell phone detector products perfectly,” said Scott Schober, the president and CEO of BVS.

As is the case in the United States, U.K. prisons have struggled to prevent cell phones from falling into inmates’ hands. This trend is particularly troublesome as smuggled phones are often used to contact accomplices outside of prison to organize crimes or even to arrange murders or other illegal acts within the prison itself.

Before George Moon, a drug kingpin in the United Kingdom, was caught he made more than £300,000 in the span of eight months – all from his prison cell thanks to a mobile phone he had hidden in his mattress. 

With cell phones getting smaller and smaller, it has become even more difficult to find them using traditional methods. Prisoners have been caught hiding cell phones in shoes, shielded books, loaves of bread, and just about anything else imaginable.

To help officials crack down on these contraband items, BVS has developed a suite of sophisticated cell phone detectors that can automatically alert prison guards when a phone is making calls or has entered a room.

Unlike jammers, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and can unintentionally disrupt communication devices outside of prisons, BVS’s Watchhound and Wolfhound Cell Phone Security Monitor systems can create wireless-free zones without interfering with other communication devices for less than $2,500.

In other news, BVS is positioning itself to take advantage of the exploding 4G market with the introduction of a variety of optional internal LTE, UMTS and CDMA modulators for its Tortoise multi-band transmitter.

“At this year’s 4G World, we are targeting the massive 4G build out by offering a variety of modulation options to past, present and future Tortoise transmitter customers. This, coupled with our YellowFin-LTE analyzer, provides an end-to-end solution for use in drive studies, site optimization and coverage analysis for the most common 4G network standards,” Schober said.

 To accompany the product rollout, BVS teamed up with Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Andrew Goudelock at the 4G World Conference in Chicago. During the conference, attendees had the opportunity to meet Goudelock and compete in a free-throw contest that awarded participants prizes like $5 Starbucks gift cards.