Steve Atkinson, Director of Government Business Development, Traka Americas, explains how key and asset management are improving government facilities and agencies.
Government facilities and agencies often utilize the most advanced technology available for managing important data, such as cybersecurity threats, surveillance and other highly critical information.
However, some agencies at both the federal and state levels are still handling their most important physical assets, such as keys/vehicle fobs, devices and even evidence, with outdated and unsecured methods.
Advanced key and asset management technologies exist to safeguard these items (physical keys, inventory scanners, laptops, radios, cell phones, guns, medical equipment, medications, etc.) and enhance efficiencies within agencies, further protecting critical data, locations and equipment.
Physical keys and assets require similar security and management methods as most critical networks, and the latest key and asset management technologies align with the many agencies’ existing operational protocols, which promotes a higher level of security, ease of administration and auditability.
Many of these systems integrate into existing Physical Access Control Systems (PACS) solutions, further simplifying management and empowering access while utilizing existing access control readers and databases.
This helps agencies manage access more comprehensively using known security software platforms.
Furthermore, advanced cabinets and lockers include usage reporting, which is vital for government facilities and agencies to maintain transparency and remain in operational compliance, especially when reporting breaches or lost items.
Perhaps one of the most compelling use cases for key cabinets within government facilities at any level is fleet management.
There can be a multitude of vehicles within any agency, and how they’re managed can directly impact employees’ ability to perform their duties.
Keys that are kept in an intelligent key cabinet are assigned to a specific employee or group of employees, which helps limit access to only those authorized for that vehicle.
When a vehicle is returned, the employee inputs important information in the cabinet interface, like how many miles are on the odometer, if it needs an oil change or if there’s something wrong with the vehicle.
Depending on various fault levels assigned to those prompts, the system restricts the vehicle from being used until the fault has been corrected, which limits the possibility of an employee unknowingly taking a vehicle with potential critical faults.
Also, the cabinet maintains an audit report of who took which vehicle and when and includes curfews so that if a vehicle isn’t brought back by a certain time, an administrator can be notified.
Finally, by implementing an intelligent key cabinet for fleet management, agencies can reassign personnel who were responsible for manually checking vehicles in and out to another task.
Many government facilities and agencies, including non-law enforcement agencies, must maintain at least a small contingent of law enforcement personnel.
One of the most important functions of these small, medium and large police forces is their need to manage crime incidents and maintain a proper chain of custody of evidence.
Whether through budget constraints or a potential lack of knowledge of solutions, many government facilities and agencies have not implemented technology that maintains evidence in a way that empowers appropriate actions by the justice system.
A thorough audit trail and chain of custody of all evidence – when it was obtained, when it was evaluated, when forensic procedures were completed, who took the evidence and how long it was in their possession – is critical to the successful adjudication of a case.
Without this, law enforcement’s case is susceptible to questioning by defense attorneys who will challenge the credibility of the evidence and its potential contamination.
Proper procedures for evidence management allow secure storage in asset lockers, charging within the locker if the devices are electronic and even RFID tagging within the locker to audit if something was taken out and, ultimately, when it was physically returned.
Without these modern solutions in place, many agencies rely on logbooks or other manual procedures, effectively putting the credibility of evidence in question and weakening the prosecutorial case.
Similar to key cabinets, modular evidence storage lockers are integrated into an agency’s overall access control system that safely stores vital evidence collected from a crime scene.
When an officer returns with the evidence, the transaction of placing it in the locker is recorded in the system, which keeps a running account of all access to it.
A report can be produced on-demand and serves as redundant proof during a trial that an agency has properly handled those critical items.
Multiple lockers can be used for larger agencies to categorically separate different types of evidence to avoid potential cross-contamination.
Because evidence sometimes needs to be stored for years, it’s important to have sustainable physical solutions that ensure safe storage and can evolve with modern access control systems to keep the overall chain of custody intact.
While the standalone benefits of both networked intelligent key cabinets and modular lockers are apparent, it’s their collective impact on operations and efficiency that represents the most promise for government facilities and agencies.
By improving antiquated methods of storing, managing and reporting on the usage of critical assets, key cabinets and asset management lockers are a significant advancement toward modernizing internal processes for agencies that are considering adopting the latest technology.
Their return on investment regarding time saved is invaluable, not to mention the financial savings of having a futureproof solution that helps eliminate costly rekeys, manual disbursement of fleet vehicles, replacement of expensive mechanical and electronic assets, or the loss of a case due to the mishandling of valuable evidence.
Government facilities agencies that adopt these solutions within their processes are utilizing 21st century technology to empower new and higher levels of efficiency at a fraction of the cost of existing physical key and asset management procedures.
This article was originally published in the May edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.