How one Texas police department is improving efficiency with key management, by Collin Sharp, Regional Sales Manager, Traka Americas.
A hailstorm in 2016 was a blessing in disguise for the Wylie Police Department, which is located on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas.
While their building sustained major damage that required four years of repairs, the department was forced to take stock of their operational processes.
They subsequently made critical changes that drastically improved safety and overall efficiency.
The measures they implemented represent a blueprint for departments across the country on how to effectively utilize key management, which can impact nearly every sector of a police department or correctional facility.
Prior to that storm and the new building construction in 2020, the Wylie Police Department handled keys the same way many departments currently do – through a traditional pegboard and manual check-out system.
It placed accountability solely on the shoulders of the officer checking the keys out and there was no audit system to accurately track when and where a key was at any time.
They relied on a notebook that oftentimes was not updated and the result was keys often being misplaced, which led to valuable downtime spent searching for them.
In addition to a new building in 2020, Wylie named a new Jail Manager that year in Bryce Thompson, who helped usher in a new system of efficiency.
Thompson had spent 30 years with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office in McKinney, Texas, which included a county jail with more than 1,100 inmates.
The logistical struggle of constantly having to check keys in and out through a manual system while updating a notebook became extremely time-consuming.
That county eventually adopted a form of electronic key management and when Thompson was hired by Wylie, he knew that was one of the first things he was going to implement.
Even though the facility at Wylie is much smaller than the county jail Thompson came from, the principles remained the same.
Thompson had a conversation with his chief about the benefits he saw to installing a key management system, from the security to overall efficiency and once it was approved, Thompson replaced Wylie’s pegboard system with an electronic key cabinet in two departments – patrol car access and jail access.
Officers sign in with their credentials and have access to keys that are monitored through a central system.
If a key isn’t returned on time, Thompson receives a notification and can track down the officer who originally removed it.
He can also see in real-time where every key is, which not only provides a clear audit trail but also ensures Wylie remains in compliance with state regulations.
Wylie is in the process of rewriting their key policy and achieving accreditation with the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
Being able to provide instant reports of all their key usage will go a long way in maintaining their accreditation status.
“Management of these keys is one of the most important things we need to do,” Thompson said.
Another critical feature the key management system possesses for Wylie is scalability.
Currently, they have 76 sworn officers, 21 patrol vehicles and can house 23 prisoners in their jail.
As they have different key sizes, including big keys for their older jail doors, they needed a cabinet that could accommodate that.
They also needed the ability to expand. Wylie Police Department continues to add officers and resources and because they operate with a flexible system, they can update the number of users quickly.
That ease-of-use also helps in the onboarding process for new employees, who can get up to speed faster than before.
“We’ve been using it for three years and haven’t had one electronic or mechanical issue,” Thompson said.
Speaking of new officers, having accountability through the key management system has been a crucial and necessary component.
No new officer wants to be the one to lose a key so early in their career and by having a comprehensive key management tracking system in place, those fears are eliminated.
It also helps to build trust between them and administrators; when an officer says they returned a key at a certain time, the evidence in the system can confirm that.
“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people – keys aren’t in a drawer or office somewhere,” Thompson said.
Thompson was also strategic in where he implemented the key management system at the onset of the construction of the new facility.
He mapped out where these cabinets would be in terms of workflow and available resources within the department.
Whether it’s a brand-new facility or a department that’s been around for decades, the impact of a comprehensive key management system can be immediate.
By strategically placing these key management systems throughout a facility, departments can avoid logistical traffic and keep resources away from unauthorized users, like inmates and guests.
“Liability, accountability and security… those would be my justification for spending a little bit of money and getting this type of system for a department,” Thompson said.
“If you don’t do that, you can lose keys, spend time looking for them and wondering who had them last.”
Beyond key management, a growing number of departments across the country are leveraging asset management lockers to securely store shared devices like scanners, firearms, radios, tablets and more.
The charging capabilities within these lockers integrate with the system’s software, which can prioritize a charged asset, so an officer doesn’t unknowingly check out one that’s not charged.
In that same vein, lockers can be equipped with fault-logging features that allow officers to input when a device or vehicle may have something wrong with it.
The system will remove that asset or vehicle key from rotation until the issue has been fixed and noted as such.
This is especially helpful in extending the life of those assets and eliminates the tendency for officers and staff to routinely check out a “favorite” asset.
Since Thompson installed the system at Wylie, he has become an advocate to contacts within law enforcement who may be considering similar technology – and for good reason; the Wylie Police Department represents an ideal case study of a department that made a seemingly minor change that increased efficiency, ensured compliance and provided peace of mind for administrators and officers that they were managing the most critical and widely used security assets to the highest letter of the law.
Collin Sharp serves as the Traka Americas Regional Sales Manager for the Central US and provides innovative technology solutions that help manage and audit the physical keys and shared equipment that keeps facilities safe and operational. For more information on Traka, please visit traka.com.
This article was originally published in the March edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.