Jamie Barnett was quoted in an article by Communications Daily on August 30, 2017, about the DOJ's support of cell phone signal jamming in correctional facilities. According to the DOJ, cell phone jamming in prisons does not violate 47 U.S. Code § 333, which prohibits the willful interference of radio communications from an authorized station. Contraband cell phones are a growing problem in state and local correctional facilities.
The DOJ "Understandably wants to be supportive of requests from some correctional officials, but these comments are ill-informed," said Barnett, "DOJ ignores those jurisdictions and other countries who have tried jamming and found it to be ineffective. ... As long as jammers are illegal in the U.S., they are contraband. By legalizing them, even if only for law enforcement use, more jammers will be in the hands of the public and available to criminals and terrorists." Barnett said DOJ also misinterpreted the statute. "The jammer is willful and the authorized station is the carrier, not the person holding the cellphone," he said. "The FCC needs to find new technologies, like beacon technology, not old and ineffective ones."