Securus Technologies

Securus Technologies is a privately held corrections-technology and communications business headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its principal customers are correctional departments, jails, prisons, and other government agencies in the United States. The company supplies infrastructure and software used to connect incarcerated people with approved contacts, manage payments and accounts, deliver digital media and tablet services, support video visitation, and assist correctional authorities with monitoring and security operations. The business began in 1986 as TZ Holdings Inc. and operated for many years in the institutional telecommunications market. It adopted the Securus Technologies name in April 2009, reflecting a broader positioning around secure communications and technology rather than conventional telephone service alone. During the 2010s, the company became one of the most prominent providers in the United States inmate-communications sector, a market in which providers commonly operate under contracts with individual correctional systems and facilities. Ownership and corporate structure changed several times. ABRY Partners acquired a significant interest from Castle Harlan in 2013 in a transaction reported at $640 million. Securus expanded its technology portfolio in 2015 by acquiring JPay, whose products included electronic payments, communications, and media services for correctional systems. By 2016, the company had also accumulated a range of government-services businesses, software assets, technologies, patents, and exclusive commercial agreements. Platinum Equity acquired the company in 2017. In 2019, Platinum announced a reorganization that established Aventiv Technologies as Securus's new corporate parent and presented the group as a broader technology company. Securus's offerings have included inmate telephone services, video visitation, electronic messaging, money-transfer and payment products, tablets, digital content, investigative tools, and wireless-security systems. The company has also sold or operated technologies intended to identify communications, analyze calls, and prevent unauthorized mobile-phone connections inside correctional facilities. Its scale has made it an important intermediary between incarcerated people, their families, correctional agencies, and local governments. The company operates in a heavily regulated and politically contested market. Critics have focused on the price of inmate calls and related services, exclusive or commission-based correctional contracts, the market power of a small number of providers, privacy and data-security practices, and the use of voice-analysis and location-related tools. In response to sustained criticism, the company and its parent Aventiv have announced changes involving pricing, technology access, governance, and corporate practices. Dave Abel became president and chief executive officer of Aventiv in January 2020 and publicly committed to reforming policies and practices while acknowledging earlier criticism. By the end of 2021, Aventiv reported deploying more than 400,000 tablets to incarcerated people, including 100,000 tablets made available at no charge to incarcerated people in Texas, with paid content intended to help support the program. In December 2021, Aventiv said the average per-minute cost of calls made through its technology had fallen from $0.15 to $0.13. These developments formed part of the group's effort to present itself as a technology and services provider rather than solely a prison telephone operator. Securus remains an active brand within Aventiv Technologies. Its present identity is closely associated with correctional communications and digital services in the United States, while its reputation continues to be shaped by debates over affordability, privacy, surveillance, contracting, and the proper role of private technology vendors in correctional systems.

Securus Technologies originated in Dallas, Texas, in 1986 under the name TZ Holdings Inc. The company developed within the United States correctional-communications industry, supplying telephone and related services to prisons and jails. In April 2009, TZ Holdings changed its name to Securus Technologies, signaling a stronger emphasis on secure institutional communications and technology services. During the 2010s, Securus became one of the principal private providers serving incarcerated people and correctional agencies in the United States. Its business model generally depended on contracts with correctional facilities and government systems. The company expanded beyond traditional voice calling into video visitation, electronic messaging, payment services, digital media, software, monitoring, and facility-security technologies. This expansion reflected the increasingly digital nature of correctional administration and the demand for systems that could manage both communications and financial transactions. In 2013, ABRY Partners acquired a significant interest in Securus from Castle Harlan in a transaction reported at $640 million. Two years later, Securus acquired JPay, a company known for electronic payments, communications, and media services in state prison systems. The acquisition broadened Securus's reach and gave it a larger portfolio of services directed at incarcerated users and their families. By 2016, the company reported or was described as having acquired numerous government-services and software businesses, technologies, patents, and exclusive partner agreements. Securus's growth occurred alongside increasing public scrutiny of the prison telecommunications market. Critics argued that incarcerated people and their families could face unusually high charges for calls, electronic messages, money transfers, and video visits. The company also faced questions about exclusive facility contracts, commissions or other financial relationships connected with correctional systems, competition, privacy, and the use of communications data. In 2015, Securus lobbied against Federal Communications Commission intervention concerning inmate-communication pricing. A separate 2015 breach involving roughly 70 million call records intensified concern about information security. Platinum Equity acquired Securus in 2017. The new ownership period included the introduction of the Wireless Containment Solution, designed to prevent unauthorized mobile phones from connecting to cellular networks inside correctional facilities. Securus said the system had blocked 1.7 million inmate calls by November 2017. The company also continued to develop monitoring and analysis tools, but those products became central to later privacy debates. In 2019, the New York Times reported that Securus technology had been used to create voiceprints from monitored calls and to identify communications considered suspicious. The same period saw reporting about a location-related product capable of helping identify the location of phones. These controversies raised questions about consent, retention of biometric information, oversight, and the boundaries between correctional monitoring and broader surveillance. In 2022, a United States Marshal was indicted for allegedly misusing a location-tracking product. Securus said the tool had been discontinued and permanently disabled more than four years earlier. Platinum Equity announced in 2019 that Securus would be reorganized under Aventiv Technologies, a new corporate parent intended to support a broader technology strategy. In January 2020, Aventiv appointed Dave Abel as president and chief executive officer. Abel acknowledged that the company had faced criticism over pricing, data security, product innovation, and related practices, and presented reform as a central management priority. The company and its parent also promoted expanded digital access. By the end of 2021, Aventiv reported deployment of more than 400,000 tablets to incarcerated people, including 100,000 tablets made available without charge in Texas. The group stated that additional paid content was expected to help cover program costs. Aventiv also reported that average per-minute call prices using its technology had fallen from $0.15 to $0.13. Pricing nevertheless remained contested, particularly because rates differed substantially by facility and because state and federal rules did not always apply uniformly to intrastate and interstate calls. Regulatory and legal pressure continued. California capped calling rates at detention facilities at $0.07 per minute in 2021. New York City adopted legislation in 2019 guaranteeing free calling time for people held in city jails, following criticism of the economics of jail telephone contracts. In 2024, a class-action complaint in Michigan alleged that Securus participated in a kickback arrangement involving county jails and the restriction of in-person visits; a circuit judge dismissed the case in August 2024, holding that the pleaded facts did not implicate constitutional rights. The dismissal did not eliminate wider policy debates about correctional communications. In April 2025, Aventiv announced an agreement under which Platinum Equity and financial stakeholders would invest $360 million in exchange for equity. Securus remains an active brand within Aventiv's United States correctional-technology portfolio. Its history illustrates the convergence of institutional telecommunications, digital payments, software, surveillance, and correctional security, as well as the persistent tension between commercial service provision, public regulation, affordability, and privacy.

• 2025

  Aventiv announces a $360 million equity investment agreement

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Platinum Equity and financial stakeholders agree to invest $360 million in exchange for equity in Aventiv.

• 2021

  Tablet deployment expands

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Aventiv reports deployment of more than 400,000 tablets to incarcerated people, including 100,000 in Texas made available without charge.

• 2020

  Dave Abel becomes Aventiv CEO

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Aventiv appoints Dave Abel president and chief executive officer and announces a reform-oriented management direction.

• 2019

  Aventiv Technologies becomes the corporate parent

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Platinum Equity reorganizes the business under Aventiv Technologies.

• 2017

  Platinum Equity acquisition

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Platinum Equity acquires Securus Technologies.

• 2015

  JPay acquisition

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Securus acquires JPay and expands its payments, communications, and media services.

• 2013

  ABRY Partners acquires a significant interest

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  ABRY Partners acquires a significant interest from Castle Harlan in a reported $640 million transaction.

• 2009

  Corporate name changes to Securus Technologies

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  TZ Holdings adopts the Securus Technologies name.

• 1986

  TZ Holdings is founded

  [1]Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  The company that later became Securus Technologies is founded in Dallas, Texas, as TZ Holdings Inc.

A secure communications and technology-services provider for correctional institutions, combining communications, payments, digital media, monitoring, and facility-security tools.

• Institutional communications

  Correctional telephone services

  Securus provides managed telephone systems for prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities. The services connect incarcerated people with approved contacts and are administered through facility contracts, account systems, calling rules, and monitoring requirements. Pricing varies considerably among institutions and has been a central subject of regulation and criticism.

• Institutional communications

  Video visitation

  Video visitation products enable correctional facilities to provide remote or on-site video communication between incarcerated people and approved visitors. The systems typically combine scheduling, identity or account controls, facility administration, and payment functionality. Video services have become an important part of the company's broader communications portfolio.

• Payments and digital communications · 2015

  JPay services

  JPay became part of Securus through the 2015 acquisition of JPay. Its portfolio included electronic money transfers, payments, messaging, media, and other digital services for correctional systems. The acquisition expanded Securus's relationship with incarcerated people and their families beyond voice calling.

• Digital media and education technology

  Correctional tablets

  Securus and Aventiv deploy tablets for incarcerated users, supporting approved digital content and services. Reported uses include communications, media, educational materials, and other facility-authorized applications. By the end of 2021, Aventiv said more than 400,000 tablets had been deployed, including a large no-cost Texas deployment.

• Correctional security · 2017

  Wireless Containment Solution

  Announced in 2017, the Wireless Containment Solution was designed to prevent contraband mobile phones inside correctional facilities from connecting to commercial wireless networks. Securus reported that the system had blocked 1.7 million inmate calls by November 2017.

• Monitoring and investigative software

  Call monitoring and voice-analysis tools

  Securus has supplied tools used to monitor and analyze correctional communications. Reporting in 2019 described a system that created voiceprints and flagged calls considered suspicious. These capabilities generated debate about biometric data retention, consent, oversight, and the privacy of incarcerated people and their correspondents.

• 2024

  Michigan correctional-communications kickback allegations

  A class-action lawsuit alleged that Securus participated in a quid-pro-quo arrangement with Michigan county jails that restricted in-person visits to increase voice and video-call revenue. The case was dismissed in August 2024.

  Source

• 2019

  Voiceprint and call-monitoring controversy

  Reporting alleged that Securus covertly recorded and fingerprinted the voices of incarcerated people and their correspondents and used voice analysis to flag calls as suspicious.

  Source

• 2018

  Location-tracking product controversy

  Reporting described a Securus product that could help locate almost any phone in the United States within seconds, prompting demands for explanations about surveillance controls and authorization.

  Source

• 2015

  Call-record data breach

  A data breach involving approximately 70 million records of telephone calls raised significant concerns about Securus's information-security practices.

  Source

Read more

• 2021Correctional tablet access expansion

  United States · Texas

  Aventiv promoted broader deployment of tablets to incarcerated people, including a reported Texas program in which 100,000 tablets were made available without charge.

  Outcome. Aventiv reported more than 400,000 tablets deployed by the end of 2021, with additional content intended to help support the program's costs.

  Source
• 2020Aventiv reform initiative

  United States

  Following the creation of Aventiv Technologies as Securus's corporate parent, new leadership presented reform of pricing, data security, product innovation, and corporate practices as a strategic priority.

  Outcome. The initiative was followed by continued product expansion and reported reductions in average per-minute calling costs, although criticism and regulatory scrutiny continued.

  Source

• 2025

  Agree to a $360 million equity investmentOther

  Background

  Aventiv announced a financing and ownership agreement involving its private-equity owner and financial stakeholders.

  Action taken

  Platinum Equity and financial stakeholders agreed to invest $360 million in exchange for equity in the company.

  Aftermath

  The announced transaction provided additional capital to Aventiv; the ultimate ownership and operating effects are not detailed in the available reference material.

  Equity investment. $360 million (April 2025)

  Source

• 2021

  Report lower average calling costsPrice change

  Background

  Aventiv faced sustained criticism and regulatory attention concerning the cost of calls from correctional facilities.

  Action taken

  Aventiv announced that average per-minute calling costs using its technology had fallen from $0.15 to $0.13.

  Aftermath

  The announcement supported the group's reform narrative, while facility-level pricing and broader affordability concerns remained contested.

  Average cost per minute. $0.15 → $0.13 (December 2021 announcement)

  Source

• 2019

  Reorganize under Aventiv TechnologiesStrategy

  Background

  Platinum Equity sought to present the business as a diversified technology company rather than only a prison telephone provider.

  Action taken

  Aventiv Technologies was created as Securus's new corporate parent.

  Aftermath

  Securus continued as a principal brand within Aventiv's correctional-technology portfolio.

  Source

• 2017

  Launch Wireless Containment SolutionProduct launch

  Background

  Correctional authorities sought methods to limit the use of contraband mobile phones inside facilities.

  Action taken

  Securus introduced a system intended to block unauthorized phones from connecting to mobile networks.

  Aftermath

  The company reported blocking 1.7 million inmate calls by November 2017.

  Source

• 2015

  Acquire JPayM&A

  Background

  Securus wanted to expand beyond telephone services into payments, electronic communications, and digital media.

  Action taken

  Securus acquired JPay.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition broadened Securus's product portfolio and institutional reach.

  Source

• 2009

  Adopt the Securus Technologies nameStrategy

  Background

  The company sought an identity better aligned with secure communications and a broader technology-services portfolio.

  Action taken

  TZ Holdings Inc. changed its corporate name to Securus Technologies.

  Aftermath

  The Securus name became the principal commercial identity for the correctional-communications business.

  Source

• Unconfirmed

  Reported2020.10.27

  Televerde and Securus form a partnership[2]Televerde与Securus建立合作关系prnewswire.com

  Televerde reported a new partnership with Securus Technologies. Aventiv Technologies’ CEO said the collaboration would provide job opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and support efforts to make Securus products more accessible and affordable.

Read more

1. 1Securus Technologiesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Televerde与Securus建立合作关系prnewswire.com