TextBehind: Mitigating the detrimental effects of contraband within the US prison system

TextBehind facilitates the exchange of letters and photos between inmates in US correctional facilities and their loved ones - helping inmates remain connected with the outside world, without placing the correctional officers at risk of handling contraband, primarily narcotics.  

Offering two modes of communication, TextBehind operates via a physical mailing service, as well as through a technology-based system with an advanced cloud infrastructure. By conducting extensive research and nurturing valuable partnerships with prison facilities across the United States, TextBehind has developed a comprehensive system that works to provide a secure and practical way of connecting relationships. 

Today, some domestic prison facilities have developed integrations for message delivery via tablets or kiosks that allow for communications to be received electronically. In such instances, the risk of contraband entering a prison is minimal; however, the risk associated with postal mail is still a danger. TextBehind believes communication should not be compromised, therefore, introducing measures that ensure mitigation of this potential risk by 100%. The innovative organization provides off-site and onsite mail scanning, mail printing services, and digital mail delivery. While doing so, TextBehind ensures all content remains encrypted at all times, protected by constitutional amendments that prohibit access to private inmate communications.  

Dedicated to providing a secure, honest service, TextBehind leaves administrative oversight to the facilities themselves - allowing individual prisons to make the important decision of whether content is permissible to be accessed by an inmate recipient. All physical mail is photocopied using a proprietary process to replicate content from its original format to a PDF document, ensuring an almost perfect level of accuracy when being transmitted from one medium to another. The organization holds all mail for thirty to sixty days before discarding it, in case a facility requests the original for evidentiary purposes. For additional investigations and data preservation, the digital versions of all communications are stored at a secure location at the discretion of the correctional facility. 

According to an article published by the National Institute of Justice, US prisons continue to face formidable threats from contraband and staff may require new, more sophisticated means of stopping it from reaching the facility’s population. By going through the process developed by TextBehind, some of these rising concerns can be halted before they manifest - something that is especially valuable to those addicted to illegal substances, as rehabilitation may be more effective when this threat is successfully mitigated. CEO and Co-Founder Zia Rana adds: “By implementing TextBehind technology and services, the contraband issue will be eliminated within 24 hours from any mail processed by our company.” 

Today, TextBehind is providing services to prison facilities across the United States - offering multiple service models directly to city, county, and state correctional facilities. Currently, customers are connected by the innovative technology at any given time, and correctional officers utilize its services daily.  

As it continues to make revolutionary impacts on inmates, their families, and the overall prison landscape, TextBehind sees beyond the vital role of communication, remaining vigilant to the potential risks that may arise when working within his space. The enterprise represents a level of social consciousness that prioritizes the mental and emotional well-being of its audience while providing contraband mitigation technology and services to keep inmates and prison personnel safe. Due to this level of awareness and adaptability, the founding team at TextBehind are thought leaders in a historically underdeveloped space, leading the way to a more humanized approach to connecting relationships today, for a better tomorrow.