Personal cellphones and electronic devices, including tablets and even smartwatches, are no longer to be used inside the secured area of the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington.

Following the lead of several other Maine jails, the Franklin County jail will not allow those types of electronics to be used in the secured area for communication or for photography or videography. The rule excludes body cameras.

The directive, from the jail’s administrator, Maj. Hart Daley, applies to all full-time staff and law enforcement officers, as well as outside agencies and contractors.

Volunteer, support and program staff may use their cellphones in the performance of their duties, but only within the visitation, court office or library area, Daley said.

Photography and videography are strictly prohibited, he said.

Corrections officers and others will have radios to communicate with fellow staff members. And staff who may need a cellphone, such as a corrections officer who transports inmates, will have county-provided phones to relay pertinent information if they are in court or need to communicate with the jail staff, Daley said.

Signs about the directive will be posted at the entrance and around the facility for visitors and staff.

Daley said the rules are meant to help keep the detention center secure, safe and running efficiently.

Other county jails that have cellphone and electronic device restrictions include Somerset, Penobscot, Knox, York, Hancock, Androscoggin, Washington, Kennebec and the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset that serves Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties.

“We haven’t allowed cellphones in the facility for about 15 years. We have lockers for them by the time clock,” Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson wrote in an email.