ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr released the following statement regarding today’s announcement that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on a new proposal that would allow prisons to begin jamming contraband cell phones for the first time ever.

“Prisoners with contraband cell phones are ordering murders, and this has to stop now. We have heard from law enforcement throughout the state that our most effective solution is to jam the signal and make contraband cell phones obsolete, yet federal policies continued to block our efforts. We’re thankful to finally have partners in the White House and the FCC who are willing to work with us to keep people safe.”

Just last year, the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) seized and processed over 15,500 cell phones and more than 150 drones.

In Tattnall County, an incarcerated leader of the infamous street gang, “Yves Saint Laurent Squad,” used a contraband cell phone to order a hit, which resulted in the death of an 88-year-old Georgia veteran. In Atlanta, two 13-year-old boys were killed in a drive-by shooting that was ordered by an incarcerated gang leader in a Georgia state prison.

Previous AG Actions

For years, Attorney General Carr fought the Biden administration to address this major public safety concern – pushing back on a longstanding FCC policy that prohibits states from using cell phone jamming technology in prisons and jails. In a letter sent in June 2024, Carr notes that the FCC’s guidance relies on a decades-old statute that was enacted long before inmates began using contraband cell phones to plan and engage in deadly and dangerous activity. In that same letter to the FCC, Carr further notes that the federal U.S. Bureau of Prisons has already recognized the value of cell phone jammers and permitted several federal penitentiaries, including at least one in Georgia, to use such devices.

In February, Carr met with President Trump’s FCC in D.C. to discuss the urgency of this issue.

In March 2025, Carr led a bipartisan coalition of 31 attorneys general in urging Congress to pass H.R. 2350 and S. 1137, federal legislation that allows states to deploy cell phone jamming technology in prisons and jails. He also took action to support similar legislation in January 2023 and December 2024.

In 2022, Carr partnered with GDC to investigate and prosecute inmates who are alleged to have engaged in criminal gang activity, including the packaging and shipping of contraband items into a state correctional facility.