Section 4576 Of Chapter 3. Unauthorized Communications With Prisons And Prisoners From California Penal Code >> Title 5. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 3.
4576
. (a) Except as otherwise authorized by law, or when authorized
by either the person in charge of the prison or other institution
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation or an officer of the institution empowered to give
that authorization, a person who possesses with the intent to
deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the
department any cellular telephone or other wireless communication
device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a
subscriber identity module (SIM card) or memory storage device, is
guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding six months, a fine not to exceed five thousand
dollars ($5,000) for each device, or both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) (1) If a person visiting an inmate or ward in the custody of
the department, upon being searched or subjected to a metal detector,
is found to be in possession of a cellular telephone or other
wireless communication device or any component thereof, including,
but not limited to, a SIM card or memory storage device, that device
or component shall be subject to confiscation but shall be returned
on the same day the person visits the inmate or ward, unless the
cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any
component thereof is held as evidence in a case where the person is
cited for a violation of subdivision (a).
(2) If, upon investigation, it is determined that no prosecution
will take place, the cellular telephone or other wireless
communication device or any component thereof shall be returned to
the owner at the owner's expense.
(3) Notice of this provision shall be posted in all areas where
visitors are searched prior to visitation with an inmate or ward in
the custody of the department.
(c) Any inmate who is found to be in possession of a wireless
communication device shall be subject to time credit denial or loss
of up to 90 days.
(d) A person who brings, without authorization, a wireless
communication device within the secure perimeter of any prison or
institution housing offenders under the jurisdiction of the
department is deemed to have given his or her consent to the
department using available technology to prevent that wireless device
from sending or receiving telephone calls or other forms of
electronic communication. Notice of this provision shall be posted at
all public entry gates of the prison or institution.
(e) The department shall not access data or communications that
have been captured using available technology from unauthorized use
of a wireless communication device except after obtaining a valid
search warrant.
(f) The department shall not capture data or communications from
an authorized wireless communication device, except as already
authorized under existing law.
(g) The department shall not access data or communications that
have been captured using available technology from an authorized
wireless communication device, except as already authorized under
existing law.
(h) If the available technology to prevent wireless communications
from sending and receiving telephone calls or other forms of
electronic communication extends beyond the secure perimeter of the
prison or institution, the department shall take all reasonable
actions to correct the problem.
(i) Any contractor or employee of a contractor or the department
who knowingly and willfully, without authorization, obtains,
discloses, or uses confidential information in violation of
subdivision (e), (f), or (g) shall be subject to an administrative
fine or civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000)
for a first violation, or ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a second
violation, or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for a third or
subsequent violation.
(j) Nothing in this section prohibits the department from
obtaining electronic communications that the department could have
lawfully obtained prior to the effective date of this section.