Police and law enforcement officers require a wide range of equipment to complete their everyday jobs. Aside from relying on firearms and safety equipment, they deal with evidence, seized narcotics, and many objects that have unique storage requirements. Police agencies need to ensure the security, safety, accountability, and reliability of every weapon, communication device, and items of interest that comes through the front door. As theft continues to increase, law enforcement officers are turning to tools that help them better manage dangerous assets and to maintain proper chain of custody for evidence.
Lockers, when used appropriately, keep items locked up and out of the wrong hands. Many law enforcement agencies are now taking things a step further and implementing electronic lockers for higher security, more precise access control, better accountability, and additional tracking.
What Is an Electronic Asset Locker?
An electronic locker has the security of a standard police locker, but it also has sensors and controllers in each compartment. It has control over every lock and knows what lockers have been accessed, including by who and when. Equipped with a smart terminal and multiple authentication options, an electronic locker system validates each user before granting access to a locker compartment. Administrators are given a complete audit trail of every item removed and returned. An instant alert will be sent to administrators if an item is being accessed outside of a scheduled time, if it’s not returned on time, or if an item is removed or returned by an unauthorized user. RFID and weight sensors validate that the correct item has been returned to the locker, and the terminal will tell users when any electronic devices have been fully charged via the locker’s built-in charging bay.
When an officer arrives for duty, all they need to do is log into the smart terminal using fingerprint, PIN, Prox Card, iris, or facial verification. The terminal prompts users to select radios, weapons, or keys needed for their shift. Officers will only be granted access to equipment they have been granted access to by the administrator. For example, if an officer is not taser-certified, a taser would not appear on the access list when that officer logs in.
The terminal keeps track of every transaction for easy viewing by department administrators in real time. The administrator can log into the system to see where each piece of equipment is at any given time.
1. Full Audit Trail of All Items
Law enforcement professionals are very aware of the importance of establishing and maintaining a secure chain of custody. By implementing an electronic system, officers are given more visibility and data points when trying to keep tabs on the exact whereabouts and access history to particular pieces of items or evidence.
Every individual that uses the electronic locker needs to identify him or herself to the system. And for this reason, agencies have a full audit trail of who has accessed what item, when they accessed the item, and for how long. Audit trails have the obvious benefit of keeping officers accountable, encouraging them to be more careful when they’re handling evidence and equipment.
2. Advanced Officer Authentication
Rather than relying on logbooks or multiple locker keys, electronic lockers are accessed via a smart terminal that verifies the user. This can use multiple authentication methods including biometrics, PIN, RFID, or other. Access is tied to a specific user, and many of these authentication methods are nearly impossible to spoof. With loose regulation, individuals could spoof sign-ins and get non-verified access to evidence rooms and special equipment lockers. Advanced authentication solves this problem.
Items of high value, such as narcotics and weapons, are being dealt with on a day-to-day basis in evidence storage and need to be accurately tracked. Stricter authentication methods make it much more difficult to defraud restricted access points, and any suspicious activity taking place could be tied directly to the individual who had access during that time.
3. Restricted Access
Electronic access lockers can lock out users so that items are only available during certain hours in a day and can restrict access based on a number of other factors. Is an officer’s weapon license expiring? An electronic locker can be programmed to know when a license expires, so that it locks the user out once it requires a renewal. Are officers required to take a seminar before using a new piece of equipment? An electronic locker can restrict users until they have been authorized. If all access is restricted exclusively to when users should be using items from the lockers, it becomes much more difficult for things to go missing.
4. Tracking and Asset Monitoring
Some police agencies go one step further and implement a full tracking system that integrates directly with the locker system. Using RFID, in-compartment sensors, and digital scales, administrators gain asset monitoring capabilities in each compartment. From wherever they have access to the cloud, administrators can confirm that items are where they should be (or get notified the instant an item isn’t where it should be). The system knows where the item has been, if the item is inside the compartment, and if it has been moved. Barcodes and RFID are increasingly being used by law enforcement agencies to track evidence in crime labs and evidence rooms. Unique identifier tags can be installed on evidence bags, allowing administrators to follow the chain of custody.
5. Improved Chain of Custody
If chain of custody is compromised in the evidence storage or handling process, it can affect the prosecution of criminals, put the agency at risk for liability, and—unfortunately—can mean the difference between letting a criminal go free or putting someone innocent behind bars. An electronic evidence locker with access control and auditing options automatically records who accesses items at all times.
Evidence lockers need to accommodate a range of objects and sizes for varied amounts of the time. . With features such as tracking, dual authentication, and audit trails, these “smarter” self-locking evidence lockers systems ensure the chain of custody and provide handling accountability for all evidence that is stored and accessed. Pass-through lockers allow all retrieval of evidence to be done only from the inside of the property and evidence room by previously authorized personnel. Additionally, evidence lockers may have special features such as refrigerated units and drying cabinets for storing temperature-sensitive and biological samples.
6. Accommodate a Wide Range of Equipment
Two-way Radios: Not only do officers require their two-way radio equipment to be kept safe, they need it to be charged and ready to use. Electronic lockers let officers charge their equipment so it’s ready whenever they are.
Firearms: Officers are typically required to secure their firearms when not in use and need lockers that are built to accommodate all types, from pistols to rifles. Long gun lockers accommodate larger weapons and can read (and track) RFID tags embedded directly into the gun.
Narcotics and Hazardous Materials: Certain seized materials and evidence require specific storage features. . Law enforcement agencies sometimes need to separate hazardous evidence from benign or inert evidence. This usually involves the installation of secure, vented, fire-rated cabinets inside or outside an evidence storage facility. Narcotics need to be tagged and locked up in a locker that provides proper airflow and additional authentication options.
Body Cameras, Dash Cams and Other Digital Evidence: Many agencies are requiring officers to use body-worn cameras while on duty. Whether an agency stores the video data on-site in evidence rooms or uses a cloud-based service, formal procedures should be established to maintain evidence, as well as to dispose of video or digital files that are not needed for evidence purposes.
Electronic Smart Lockers Can Work in all Law Enforcement Facilities
In addition to police department and crime lab’s evidence storage electronic lockers can provide similar benefits across various public safety facilities including armories, military facilities, and courts.
As criminals get wiser and find more ways to exploit discrepancies in the system, there is a demand for improved security, better visibility, and more automation Unfortunately, in some cases, the risks can even come from within the station . With the improved visibility and automation of an electronic locker system, law enforcement officials have been able to combat theft and evidence tampering with the ability to better track and control restricted items. With better tools to control these items, agencies have a greater capability to ensure restricted items remain locked up and out of the wrong hands.
