Bill would place limits on pre-paid phones
BY JACK DOUGLAS
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

DALLAS � A state lawmaker said today he plans to �go after� gangs crossing over the border by introducing legislation which would prevent them from making untraceable calls on pre-paid phones.

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, said during a news conference at Dallas police headquarters that gang members are able to coordinate their crimes on phones that they simply throwaway. Unlike conventional phones, police are unable to trace conversations and determine ownership of so-called pre-paid phones that are becoming increasingly popular for gang members to use to communicate with one another.

Carona and Dallas police chief David Kunkle said law enforcement officers are becoming increasingly concerned about the number of �transnational gangs� that are committing crimes throughout the state, many of them organized through the use of prepaid cellphones. The gangs are crossing the border of Mexico into Texas, where drugs and street violence have become more prevalent.

Carona said that during the next legislative session he will introduce a bill that will require people to provide identification before they can buy a prepaid cellphone.

The bill, the senator said, would prohibit the purchase of more than three prepaid cellphones at a time, and the makers of and service providers for those phones would be responsible for keeping call records and making them accessible to law enforcement in a criminal investigation.

�Gangs really are the state�s top homeland security issue. They�re a threat and I intend to go after them,� Carona said.

�We need to be able to break up the cycle and take away their toys,� he said.