Raffaele Ceravolo, Regional Sales Manager, Traka Americas explains the vital versatility of intelligent lockers for law enforcement agencies.

Intelligent lockers

Technology within law enforcement is constantly evolving and there’s a steady influx of solutions that departments are considering so they can operate as efficiently as possible.

It’s easy to get lost in the gadget marketplace and subsequently persuaded towards the latest trend, but what’s equally as important for departments is how they store those devices.

Intelligent asset management lockers have a variety of use cases and can serve as a futureproof storage and security solution for any department.

One of the central features for these lockers is for storing assets like laptops, tablets, radios, tasers and any other shared equipment within a department.

Too often, sensitive and expensive law enforcement equipment can be left in unsecured areas or vehicles with little to no accountability process.

That clearly represents a security threat should those assets end up in unauthorized hands and could lead to valuable downtime spent searching for them if there’s a shortage of available equipment.

Intelligent lockers can safely store all shared assets within a department and can include access levels to make sure only authorized staff can check them out.

Assets can be charged within the locker, which can be programmed to release the most fully charged one, which reduces the chance of an officer checking out a dead asset.

The lockers and corresponding equipment can also be programmed with curfews so that if an item isn’t returned by a certain time, an administrator can be notified when that asset is missing.

This process instills a sense of responsibility among law enforcement staff and helps extend the life of fundamental assets.

More key advantages

Another vital benefit of intelligent lockers in law enforecment is in the chain of custody for evidence.

When critical items from crime scenes are processed, it’s imperative that departments keep a strict log of who has had access to them and when.

Some agencies are still operating with traditional logbooks for tracking and are storing evidence in vulnerable rooms and containers.

Intelligent lockers offer additional layers of security when storing evidence and the access history can be quickly produced if that locker is integrated into the department’s software system.

Much like using lockers for shared assets as noted above, access to evidence can be assigned or unassigned to certain officers, which helps eliminate unauthorized handling of precious materials.

Mishandling evidence is still a major issue within law enforcement and it can cause items to be inadmissible in court.

Departments that utilize intelligent lockers can preserve the delicate nature of evidence and ensure it’s protected from tampering.

Finally, intelligent lockers can help reduce some of the tedious, administrative tasks within a department.

By utilizing these advanced storage solutions, there’s no need for an officer or staff to manually log access to assets or evidence.

That can help law enforcement administrators assign staff to more important tasks, while simultaneously enhancing security and storage through an integrated solution.

Lockers therefore represent an invaluable resource for departments to improve their efficiency and help create a culture of accountability regarding the critical assets needed on a daily basis and the most sensitive items involved in criminal cases.

This article was originally published in the special February Influencers Edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.