Securus Technologies
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Communications technology |
| Predecessor | TZ Holdings Inc. |
| Founded | 1986 in Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Fate | Rebranded under Aventiv Technologies |
| Successor | Aventiv Technologies (parent company) |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Dave Abel (President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies) |
| Products | Telecommunications services for correctional institutions, Wireless Containment Solution, JPay technology and financial services |
| Owner | GlobalTel Link Viapath (private equity firm) |
Number of employees | 1,600 |
| Parent | Aventiv Technologies |
Securus Technologies is a communications technology company specializing in services for correctional institutions throughout the United States. Operating as a division of Aventiv Technologies, the firm has been subject to scrutiny regarding its phone call pricing structures, data protection practices, market dominance, and innovation in product development.
Ownership of Securus lies with GlobalTel Link Viapath, a private equity firm based in San Diego.
History
Originally established as TZ Holdings Inc. in Dallas, Texas, in 1986, the organization adopted the name Securus Technologies in April 2009. During the 2010s, it became one of the primary providers of telecommunication services to American correctional facilities. In 2013, ABRY Partners acquired a partial stake in Securus from Castle Harlan for $640 million. The company suffered a significant data breach in July 2015 that exposed nearly 70 million phone call records. Over time, Securus has expanded through acquiring 20 entities including government service providers, software companies, technologies, patents, and exclusive agreements.
In July 2015, Securus purchased JPay, Inc., a firm offering technology and financial services. In 2017, Platinum Equity—a Beverly Hills-based private equity group owned by billionaire Tom Gores—acquired Securus. By 2019, Platinum Equity restructured the business under the Aventiv Technologies brand to broaden its portfolio of technology solutions.
In October 2020, Securus collaborated with Televerde to deliver inbound customer service support aimed at families of incarcerated persons, focusing on user education and assistance with transitions.
Dave Abel was appointed president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies in January 2020. He committed to implementing reforms targeting previous issues related to pricing policies, data security measures, and product innovation.
Operations
The company’s main office is located in Dallas, Texas, with additional regional locations in Carrollton, Texas, Miramar (Missouri), and Houston, Texas. Employing roughly 1,600 staff members, Securus holds contracts with approximately 2,600 correctional institutions nationwide.
By late 2021, Aventiv Technologies had distributed more than 400,000 tablet devices to incarcerated individuals. This total includes 100,000 tablets supplied at no cost by Securus Technologies within Texas, accompanied by supplementary content designed to help offset expenses.
Communication costs
Telephone call rates vary significantly depending on the facility. Initial minute charges can exceed US$5 or be as low as four cents; subsequent minutes range from over US$1 down to four cents. While the FCC established a cap on out-of-state call rates at about 21 cents per minute, many detention centers continue to apply higher charges for in-state calls. On December 8, 2021, Aventiv Technologies announced a decrease in the average per-minute calling fee for incarcerated users—from $0.15 down to an unprecedented $0.13.
In 2017, Securus launched its Wireless Containment Solution designed to prevent unauthorized cell phones from accessing mobile networks within prisons. By November of that year, this technology had intercepted approximately 1.7 million inmate calls.
In 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission imposed a maximum rate of $0.07 per minute for calls made from detention facilities within California.
Criticism and controversy
In 2015, Securus actively lobbied against the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to regulate pricing for inmate communication services.
On May 10, 2018, The New York Times disclosed that Securus offered a product capable of pinpointing the location of nearly any phone in the United States within seconds. This revelation prompted Senator Ron Wyden to request explanations from both the FCC and telecommunications companies regarding this surveillance capability. Subsequently, in June 2022, a U.S. Marshal was charged with misusing the system to monitor acquaintances and their spouses. Securus responded by stating that it had "discontinued the tool more than four years ago and permanently shut it off."
The prison telephone sector has been criticized for imposing excessive fees that exploit incarcerated individuals. In 2019, New York City enacted legislation providing inmates with 21 minutes of free calling; prior to this, the contract with Securus generated $5 million in revenue for the city and $2.5 million for Securus.
Back in 2015, Securus's fee structure included:
- Approximately 10% charged on bank transfers
- Between $0.35 and $0.50 per email page, referred to as "virtual stamps"
- Roughly $20 per hour for video conferencing
In 2019, investigations revealed that Securus was secretly recording and creating voiceprints of inmates and their contacts to identify "suspicious" calls. Participation in this voice recognition program is compulsory in certain states, with voiceprint data stored indefinitely at Securus’s facility in Texas.
By 2024, Securus faced a class action lawsuit accusing the company of engaging in a "quid pro quo kickback scheme" with county jails in Michigan that prohibited face-to-face visits to increase income from voice and video communication services.