BILOXI, MS — Officials from Biloxi unleashed an onslaught of misinformation regarding the controversial Securix program that uses cameras to detect and fine motorists driving uninsured vehicles. The remarks came during the city’s January 7th Council meeting at City Hall.
“There seems to be some confusion out there in the general public that this has been discontinued or it’s paused,” Councilman Paul Tisdale stated, referring to a recent report published by this site.
Last week, GC Wire accurately reported the Securix program in Biloxi was suspended.
“I don’t know if they had any sources, they never did a public records request.” City Attorney Peter Abide erroneously said referring to the article. In fact, GC Wire does have sources and did get information via public records requests.
“It was some social media sort of animation that we’ve canceled it or it’s over and it’s not over. It’s ongoing,” Abide added confidently. But he was wrong. Again.
Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich chimed in by stating, “Department of Public Safety has no issue there as far as releasing data.” But they do have an issue.
“I appreciate you clearing that up,” Tisdale said. “Getting accurate information out to the public, if it’s not accurate or it’s not timely or what, then generally they’re conspiracy theorists,” he added. However, the inaccurate information came from the gentlemen in that room.
Securix System is NOT ‘Ongoing’ in Biloxi
In January of 2024, the City of Biloxi entered into a contract with a company that would provide a series of license plate reading cameras that would cross check vehicles with the state’s insurance database run by the Department of Public Safety.
Securix Mississippi LLC is the company the city partnered with for the program.
That company is a joint venture between QJR LLC and Securix LLC. QJR consists of Quinton Derickson and Josh Gregory – of the Jackson based political consulting firm Frontier Strategies – along with their partner Robert Wilkinson, who is the City Attorney for Ocean Springs. QJR is a name-based acronym symbolizing the first names of the three partners.
In August of 2024, Securix Chairman Jonathan Miller sent a letter to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) making claims of malfeasance happening within the system. DPS followed up asking for information from Miller to support his claims.
Program Ordered to Cease and Desist
On August 29, 2024, DPS sent a cease and desist letter to HDI Solutions, the company contracted to handle the state’s database. “DPS asks that HDI immediately discontinue sharing or providing data relating to any programs involving Securix or QJR,” Chief Counsel for DPS J. Chadwick Williams wrote. The letter was acquired by GC Wire via a public records request.
A month later, QJR and Securix became embattled in a break-up lawsuit filed in Jackson County Chancery Court. The case has since been moved to federal court.
Recent filings show Securix Mississippi is close to insolvency. “The fact is that Securix Mississippi will have no funds within the next thirty (30) to sixty (60) days,” QJR attorney Jakyln Wrigley wrote in the Christmas Eve filing.
A Blow to Credibility
The City of Biloxi’s defense of the Securix program during the January 7th Council meeting not only failed to address its glaring issues but also misled the public about the program’s current status. The claims that the program is still “ongoing” and that DPS “has no issue” are blatantly contradicted by the Department of Public Safety’s cease and desist order, which effectively dismantled its core functionality.
City leaders dismissed well-documented concerns as “social media animation” and “conspiracy theories,” yet the facts speak for themselves: the program is in shambles, entangled in lawsuits, and on the brink of insolvency.
Rather than doubling down on misinformation, officials owe the citizens of Biloxi a clear and honest account of what went wrong — and why they are still defending a program that no longer exists in practice.
