Securus Technologies
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology, Rehabilitative Electronics, Telecommunications for Correctional Facilities |
| Founded | 1986 (as TZ Holdings Inc.) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Products | Tablets, Money Transfers, Communications, education, and reentry services for incarcerated individuals. |
| Owner | Platinum Equity |
Number of employees | 1,600 (estimated) |
| Website | www.Aventiv.com securustech |
Securus Technologies is a technology communications firm serving department of corrections facilities and incarcerated individuals across the country.[1][2] The Company is a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, which in 2020 announced an ambitious multi-year transformation effort to change the company into a technology company for rehabilitation, and to make its products affordable and accessible for consumers. In the past, the company has faced criticism over phone call pricing, data security, and product innovation.[3]
Securus is owned by Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity.[4]
History
Securus was founded as TZ Holdings Inc. in 1986 in Dallas, Texas. The company changed its name from TZ Holdings Inc. to Securus Technologies in April 2009.[5] During the 2010s, Securus was one of a number of companies which provided telephone service to inmates in US prisons.[6] Securus was partially acquired by ABRY Partners from Castle Harlan in 2013 for $640 million.[7][8] The company was the target of a data breach of about 70 million records of phone calls in July 2015.[9] Since its inception, Securus has acquired 20 government services, software-based businesses, technologies, patents and exclusive partner agreements.[10]
The company was acquired in 2017 by Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity, owned by billionaire Tom Gores.[4] In 2019, Platinum Equity announced plans to reorganize the company as a more diverse technology company, and created Aventiv Technologies as Securus' new corporate parent.[11]
In October 2020, Securus Technologies partnered with Televerde. In this collaboration, Televerde will offer inbound customer service to friends and families of imprisoned people on live support networks, promoting the transition and training Securus users on the use of its goods.[12][13]
Securus was founded as TZ Holdings Inc. in 1986 in Dallas, Texas. The company changed its name from TZ Holdings Inc. to Securus Technologies in April 2009.[5] During the 2010s, Securus was one of a number of companies which provided telephone service to individuals in US correctional facilities.[6] Securus was partially acquired by ABRY Partners from Castle Harlan in 2013 for $640 million.[7][8] The company was the target of a data breach of about 70 million records of phone calls in July 2015.[9] Since its inception, Securus has acquired 20 government services, software-based businesses, technologies, patents and exclusive partner agreements.[10]
In July 2015 Securus Technologies announced that it acquired JPay Inc technology and financial services provider.
The company was acquired in 2017 by Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity, owned by billionaire Tom Gores.[4] In 2019, Platinum Equity announced plans to reorganize the company as a more diverse technology company, and created Aventiv Technologies as Securus' new corporate parent.[11]
In mid-January 2020, Aventiv Technologies named Dave Abel as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Abel committed to reform corporate policies and practices, acknowledging the company faced criticism in the past over pricing, data security, product innovation and other issues. The company has set annual commitments around access and affordability, transparency, education, reentry and recidivism, listening and responsiveness, and technology and innovation.
In October 2020, Securus Technologies partnered with Televerde. In this collaboration, Televerde will offer inbound customer service to friends and families of incarcerated people on live support networks, promoting the transition and training Securus users on the use of its goods.
On February 17, 2022, Aventiv Technologies launched an Independent Advisory Board of 11 experts and advocates in reentry, rehabilitation, education, and business. The Advisory Board is chaired by Teresa Hodge, the President and Co-Founder of Mission: Launch, Inc.
In June 2021, Securus Technologies announced it was partnering with Enterprise AI software company Amelia to offer real-time digital service support as part of Aventiv’s transformation effort. The collaboration will help provide immediate assistance and real-time resolution to continue to utilize products and services.
In December 2021, Securus Technologies donated to nonprofit organization Freedom Rides to help the organization make its first gift of vehicles to those transitioning out of incarceration.
In April 2022, Securus Technologies collaborated with God Behind Bars and their digital platform Pando, a first-of-its-kind app that provides faith-based content to incarcerated individuals for free. The collaboration offered a special one-hour Easter Sunday program to incarcerated individuals in more than 80 facilities across 29 states.
In late April 2022, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, a nonprofit organization run by formerly incarcerated individuals working to promote second chances, announced its partnership with Securus Technologies and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).
Operations
Securus is headquartered in Dallas, Texas with regional offices located in Carrollton, Texas, Miramar, Missouri, and Houston, Texas. The company employs approximately 1,600 people and is reported to have contracts with 2,600 correctional facilities in the United States.[14][15]
By the end of 2021, Aventiv Technologies deployed over 400,000 tablet devices to incarcerated individuals including 100,000 tablets that Securus Technologies made available to incarcerated individuals in Texas for free, with additional content expected to cover the costs.[16]
Communication costs
Prices for calls vary greatly among institutions, with first-minute charges from over US$5 to 4 cents, and from over US$1 to 4 cents for subsequent minutes.[17] Prices of out-of-state calls were capped by the FCC to around 21 cents per minute; however, instate rates at many jails and prisons continue to be much higher.[18] On December 8, 2021, Aventiv Technologies announced that the average per minute cost of calls made by incarcerated individuals with Aventiv technology was reduced from $0.15 per minute to a record-low $0.13 per minute.
Before recent FCC rate caps came into place, Aventiv Technologies renegotiated close to 200 contracts to eliminate outlier rates, created new technology that cut third-party financial service fees by 30% resulting in a 50% savings for consumers, launched subscription plans that reduce rates by 74% while increasing call time by 58%, and provided 53.2 million free calls totaling 439.7 million free minutes, and 7.4 million free video connections in response to Covid-19.
In 2017, the company announced its Wireless Containment Solution, which was developed to prevent contraband cell phones from connecting to mobile networks.[19] As of November 2017, the company reported that the Wireless Containment Solution system has blocked 1.7 million inmate calls from prisons.[20]
Criticism and controversy
On May 10, 2018, The New York Times revealed that one of Securus' products can be used to track the location of almost any phone in the US within seconds. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has sent letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and telecommunications companies demanding answers on the controversial surveillance system.[21] In June, 2022, a US Marshal was indicted by the Department of Justice for abusing the product to track people he knew, uploading blank documents and pretending he had authority to track people he had personal relationships with and their spouses. Securus responded to the indictment that they had “discontinued the tool more than four years ago and permanently shut it off. Even when operable, it was only available to users who were granted authorization by a law enforcement agency or facility. The tool was engineered with safeguards and security protocols, but we also relied on the integrity of law enforcement to operate it ethically. All of this preceded our aggressive, multi-year transformation, and we wouldn’t and won't provide the service ever again, period.”
The prison phone industry has been criticized for charging high fees and profiting off of vulnerable inmates.[22][8] In 2019, New York City passed a bill ensuring 21 minutes of free phone calls for all inmates in New York City jails; before the bill, the phone contract with Securus had generated $5 million in revenue for the city and $2.5 million for Securus.[21]
See also
References
- ^ Markowitz, Eric (8 April 2015). "Video Chats Are Replacing In-Person Jail Visits, While One Tech Company Profits". IBTimes. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "About Us - Securus Technologies". securustech.net. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ Prison Labor: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), retrieved 2019-09-25
- ^ a b c Darmiento, Laurence (2020-01-21). "Under pressure from activists, L.A. billionaire's prison telecom announces reforms". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ a b "Company Overview of Securus Technologies, Inc". Bloomberg.
- ^ a b Connor, Tracy. "'Huge Step': FCC Slashes Costs of Prison Phone Calls". NBC News. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b Dan Primack (April 8, 2013). "Private Equity Deals". Fortune.
- ^ a b c Williams, Timothy (2015-03-30). "The High Cost of Calling the Imprisoned". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ a b Young, Stephen (November 12, 2015). "Dallas-Based Prison Phone Company Securus Hit by Massive Hack". Dallas Observer. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ a b Kirk Falconer (December 1, 2016). "ABRY Partners' Securus Buys PHD Medical's Telemedicine Assets". PEhub.
- ^ a b Womack, Brian (2019-10-08). "Dallas-area company that's targeted prison populations realigns structure, broadens reach". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ "Securus Technologies Selects Televerde". Martechseries (Press release). Televerde. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via PRNewswire.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "New Partnership between Securus Technologies and Televerde Drives Enhancement in Customer Experience and Lead Inbound Client Support". MarTech Outlook. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Kozlowska, Hanna (May 9, 2015). "Prison communications company Securus will no longer require jails to ban in-person visits". Quartz. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "Securus Technologies Inc". PrivCo.
- ^ "110,000 Texas prison inmates to get computer tablets with apps, radio and email". 17 September 2021.
- ^ "2018 Phone Rates Survey". Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ Wagner, Peter; Jones, Alexi. "State of Phone Justice". Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ "Securus Technologies Announces the Activation of Additional Wireless Containment Solution Installation" (Press release). Securus Technologies, Inc. February 7, 2017 – via Corrections.com.
- ^ Willard Shepard (November 6, 2017). "Ex-Corrections Officer Works to Disconnect Inmates' Cell Phones". WTVJ. Miami, Florida.
- ^ a b Greenberg, Zoe (2018-08-06). "Phone Calls From New York City Jails Will Soon Be Free". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ Wagner, Peter; Jones, Alexi. "State of Phone Justice: Local jails, state prisons and private phone providers". Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved 2019-05-04.