NJ Expands Cell-Phone Detection Dogs [AUDIO]

Your four-legged friend could be helping crack down on crime from behind bars. Nine dogs are helping the New Jersey Department of Corrections find smuggled cell phones in prisons.

Trained to sniff out gases emitted by phone batteries, Canine Sgt. Frank Martin says the dogs can detect smells at least 15 feet above their heads.

“They are trained to work a cell the same time every time they go in it, so that they won’t miss anything.”

In recent years, the number of cell phones smuggled in prisons was on the rise, prompting the need for more dogs.

“We added more canines and they now sweep through the cells seven days a week at various jails” said Martin.

New Jersey Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan says the canine team has been highly successful.

“For the fiscal year that ended in June, the number of smuggled cell phones confiscated from state prisoners dropped 20 percent.”

Lanigan says the mobile devices are a dangerous tool for a prisoner to have. “They’ve ordered hits from inside the jail. They’ve intimidated witnesses, they have gang operations.”

Martin says other states are looking to New Jersey as a model for cell-phone detection dogs.

“They are calling us for tips, advice, how to get started, we are really leading the way here.”