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communication similar to Short Message
Service (SMS) text messaging while providing
more anonymity.
• (U) According to open source reporting,
suspected MS-13 members in Virginia
allegedly contacted a middle school student
via kik, telling him to join MS-13 and provide
names of other middle school students for
recruitment. 69
(U) Gangs rely on technology to stay connected
to their counterparts and to help drive their
illicit activities. This is particularly true for
prison gangs that seek to obtain cell phones
in order to access the outside world. Cell
phones and social media platforms enable
fast communication and coordination efforts
among street gang members; between gang
members in prison; and between prison and
street members. In all of these instances,
communication serves to enhance criminal
operations and further gang objectives.
• (U) Approximately 90 percent of prison gang
survey respondents indicate inmates in
their facilities use at least one social media
platform – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram,
or Twitter – with Facebook being the most
popular. 70
• (U) According to a 2015 report, the Georgia
Department of Corrections has reportedly
confiscated 13,500 cell phones since 2012.
The report claims that to combat the issue,
Georgia Department of Corrections installed
equipment to scan visitors for cell phones
and other electronics. However, most of
these cell phones were smuggled in by
prison staff in exchange for cash or sex. 71
(U) Source: flickr.com
• (U) Between the beginning of 2013 and
April 2014, the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation discovered
14,960 contraband cell phones in prisons. 72
• (U) The Mississippi Department of
Corrections confiscated 2,257 cell phones
across three prisons between the beginning
of 2013 and April 2014. The department
implemented a variety of preventive
measures to reduce the number of cell
phones in prisons, such as weekly searches
for WiFi Internet signals; installing netting
around prison perimeters; and increased
searches using Managed Access Systems,
Boss Chairs “body cavity detection systems,”
K-9 cell phone detector dogs, hand-wand
metal detectors, and walk-through metal
detection systems. The Mississippi
Department of Corrections donated seized
cell phones to non-profit groups, such as
Cell Phones for Soldiers, crime victims, and
domestic violence shelters. 73
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2015 NATIONAL GANG REPORT 41