Maryland jails have a new way to detect whether inmates have cell phones

After high-profile corruption cases, Maryland corrections officials sought to bring in some reinforcements to keep contraband from getting smuggled into jails.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the help came in the form of higher-powered metal detectors. Called CellSense, the detectors can pick up on cell phones and other items.
“From razors hidden under the tongue to needles hidden in a mattress, this new detection system is more sensitive, faster, and safer than previous technologies,” a Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Service notice states.
The detectors, which are made by United Kingdom–based Metrasens can also be moved around a prison to test inmates where they are.
The state decided to spend $1.8 million on 163 detectors for each of the 24 state prisons after revelations at Eastern Correctional Institution on the Eastern Shore last year and in Baltimore’s city jail in 2013 that drugs were being smuggled into jails.