Dogs sniff out cell phones in prison

ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 10 (UPI) -- The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is using sniffer dogs to stop cell phones from getting behind prison walls, officials say.

Three dogs were specifically conditioned by Division of Correction K-9 Unit authorities to sniff out cell phones, The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday.

The phone-sniffing dogs have been in use for about six weeks and are part of increased measures to prevent banned items from making it into state detention facilities, the newspaper said.

The measures are "about change in the way we think and in the way we do business," said Division of Correction Commissioner J. Michael Stouffer.

The number of cell phones found in prisons in the first half of this year went up to 456, compared to 396 found during the same period last year, the Sun said.