Securus Technologies and Breached Attorney-Client Privileged Department of Correction Telephone Calls
Department of Investigation · report
DOI reviewed an investigation by the Department of Correction and its inmate phone vendor Securus Technologies into the recording and disclosure of attorney-client privileged detainee calls in late 2020 and early 2021, an inquiry directed by then-Mayor de Blasio. Defense attorneys learned of the improper recording after prosecutors turned over the calls in discovery. DOI determined the errors, while significant, did not appear intentional and affected about 324 of more than 270,000 numbers on the Do Not Record list, and that DOC and Securus acted quickly to correct the problem. DOI issued four recommendations and took no position on whether the Securus contract should be renewed.
- Released
- 2023-05-04
- Kind
- Investigation
Key findings
- Securus audits found that telephone numbers of the Bronx and Brooklyn defender offices and the Legal Aid Society were not properly placed on the Do Not Record list, causing privileged attorney-client calls to be recorded. p. 2
- The Do Not Record list issue impacted approximately 322 unique phone numbers and 3,928 calls out of more than 270,000 numbers on the list. The Brooklyn Defender Services audit alone found 1,547 recorded calls to 105 unique numbers. p. 8
- DOC's Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters testified that the breach resulted from a human data input error, with a Securus employee selecting the wrong privacy setting (site-specific rather than agency-wide). p. 9
- The number of privileged numbers affected grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when many defense attorneys worked from home and submitted new personal phone numbers to be added to the list. p. 10
- DOC did not notify DOI when it discovered the improper recordings, and DOI investigators who had access to Securus were later instructed to dispose of any privileged recordings in their possession. p. 8
- DOC and Securus enacted reforms before any DOI recommendation, including changing all listed numbers to agency-wide privacy, strengthening the recorded warning, creating a public number-verification website, and adding a quality-control spot check. p. 9
What DOI recommended
- DOC should train all users of the Securus Call Platform to recognize potentially privileged calls and require by written policy that they immediately notify DOC Legal, with annual training acknowledged in writing. p. 15
- DOC should memorialize its protocols for preventing the monitoring and recording of privileged calls in a written Departmental Directive that can be readily accessed. p. 16
- DOC should notify defender organizations and other lawyers on the Do Not Record list that they should not accept conference or third-party calls from incarcerated individuals, since those calls will be recorded. p. 16
- Immediately upon discovering that a privileged call has been improperly recorded, DOC Legal should notify DOI. p. 16
Entities in this report
- Department of Correction Subject
- Securus Technologies Inc Subject
- The Bronx Defenders
- Brooklyn Defender Services
- The Legal Aid Society
- New York City Council
- Global Tel Link