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BY ANGEL MENDEZ

You're watching multisource US video news analysis from Newsy. 

No longer are drugs and weapons the only contraband smuggled into prisons. Now -- cell phones. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says some inmates are using smart phones to find “freedom” through Facebook while incarcerated. ABC reports:

“Countless numbers of California inmates are actively updating their Facebook accounts from their cells using smart phones that have been smuggled into prison. They’re posting pictures in front of their bunks, and they’re talking about time in the yard.”

California officials have announced a partnership with Facebook to crack down on offenders using the site.And it’s more than just liking statuses and growing crops on Farmville. KNTV says inmates have found ways to commit crimes through Facebook’s virtual portal to the outside world.

“...such as issuing threats or making sexual advances to past or potential victims. ‘It is shocking to victims or community members who worked so hard to put these offenders behind bars only to realize they have pages, whether they’re supported by the inmates families and friends, or they’re actually monitored and kept up by the inmate themselves. It’s very re-victimizing to families and communities.”

Some criminals even reach out directly to their victims by using their personal information posted on social media sites. A blogger for ZDNet reports:

“...an inmate sent drawings to the family of a 17-year old girl... An investigation was launched since details of the victim, such as how she wore her hair and what brand of clothes she wore, were accurate. It was discovered he had used a cell phone to obtain current photos from the victim’s MySpace and Facebook pages...”
 

Others question where the offenders find the phones. KNTV’s “Today in the Bay” reports allegation that the smugglers might be the people trained to keep smuggling from happening in the first place.

“A recent search turned up 7,000 cell phones in California prisons. The suspicion the LA Times says is they’re being smuggled in not by friends, but by workers at the prison, who can then get money for them from the prisoners themselves.”

Fox News’ “Red Eye” debated the issue over inmates having the right to access to their Facebook accounts.

“(Kurt) Obviously it’s not fair, but they’re in prison you can do whatever you want with them… (Bob) I think it’s wrong to take it away from them. A prisoner does have rights. They’re incarcerated, and that’s they’re punishment. That doesn’t mean that they’re supposed to have everything taken away from them, including communication with their families. (Kurt) That’s not being stopped. They can still make phone calls. They can still write letters.”

So far, accounts of at least two prisoners have been shut down and more are under investigation.

Transcript by Newsy.