Berkeley Varitronics Systems Bloodhound Cell Phone Detector 'Sniffs Out' Contraband Cell Phones in Maryland Prison

Five smuggled cell phones discovered during a two-hour sweep of Maryland's Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services facility

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Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc.

Apr 14, 2010, 01:00 ET

METUCHEN, N.J., and LONDON, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc. (BVS), a leading provider of advanced wireless solutions and products to the domestic and international wireless telecommunications industry, recently showcased the Bloodhound Cell Detector at the GovSec Show in Washington, DC March 23rd.

A live Bloodhound demonstration at the show was made to Mr. Jay Miller, DOC IT Manager for Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. A field trial was scheduled that same evening to fully test a Bloodhound in a Maryland correctional facility. A team of correctional officers was assembled to execute a cell phone detection operation during the evening hours of Tuesday, March 23, 2010 accompanied Mr. Miller.

Of the five confiscated cell phones, two were on active voice calls, one was being used for text messaging, and two were hidden on standby mode. One of the hidden phones was in a hollowed out brick covered by a capstone in a low wall that separates bunk areas in a dormitory. The second was inside an electrical box that had been covered with a solid utility plate that was held in place with security screws.

"It took only two hours to find five cell phones that were either in use at the time or hidden in the jail cells on standby mode ready to take calls," said Jay Miller.

"Based on these results we plan to place additional orders for the Bloodhound cell phone detector," added the Assistant Commissioner of the Maryland Division of Corrections, Mr. Gary Hornbaker.

As a wireless, handheld device, the Bloodhound is a safe, legal (Bloodhound does not use jamming which is a violation of FCC rules), quick and cost-effective way to monitor and pinpoint unauthorized cell phones within correctional facilities 24 hours a day. The complete Bloodhound unit costs $1,800, which is much less than other solutions that may require an entire network infrastructure to be installed. The device can also be utilized by any government agency or organization that wants to enforce a 'no wireless policy'. This can also include schools, hospitals, airliners, etc.

BVS will be showcasing the Bloodhound Cell Phone Detector (link to high res image and demo video) at the Counter Terrorism Expo 2010 April 14-15th at stand K20 in the United Kingdom.

About Berkeley Varitronics Systems

Berkeley Varitronics Systems, located in Metuchen, New Jersey, has been providing advanced wireless solutions and products to the domestic and international wireless telecommunications industry for over 35 years. Since 1995, BVS has introduced over 50 unique wireless test devices for a variety of applications including the popular Cellular, iDEN, PCS, CDMA, RFID, LTE, Mobile WiMAX, FIXED WiMAX, 802.11b/a/n/g & Bluetooth specifications.

For more information about BVS, visit www.bvsystems.com.

The Berkeley Varitronics Systems logo, names and logos and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc. All other names are for informational purposes and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc.