Ultimate Guide to Law Enforcement Technology for Equipment Management 

1. 24/7 Access 

   Smart lockers never fatigue, never need to call out sick, and can work every shift around the clock. They virtually eliminate human errors from your record keeping. They can handle evidence and equipment transactions on second and third shifts without officers needing to wait for a manager to be on duty to receive items.

   And when those personnel are on duty, they can do fewer manual tasks. For example, smart lockers handle all the minutiae of asset tracking around the clock. That means redirecting equipment managers to more productive work without reducing equipment availability.

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2. Comprehensive reporting

   Smart lockers track and record every interaction your law enforcement personnel have with them. You can generate reports based on whatever criteria you need—for productivity tracking, regulatory compliance, budgetary reporting, whatever you need.

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3. Improved productivity

   Smart lockers automate many tedious administrative tasks that consume your armory and inventory managers’ days. Equipment transactions are faster, too, typically done in seconds, in and out. Locker workflow support through checklists and queries at transaction points also streamlines other operations. For example, how you notify technicians that electronics or firearms need calibration. Automated reporting identifies problems before they impact your officers’ readiness.

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4. Enhanced access control

   Smart lockers give you granular control over which officers and other law enforcement personnel can access specific assets, when they can access them, and how long they are allowed to have them signed out. For example, you can set alerts so you know when officers are overdue to return specialized firearms after a call.

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5. Lifecycle asset tracking

   Smart armory lockers' data-gathering capabilities allow you to track every detail of an asset’s lifecycle in your organization—from “the cradle to the grave.” As a result, you’ll develop a complete picture of every interaction involving equipment, firearms, and electronic devices from the moment they enter your organization until they are retired.

   Smart lockers also include tools to help you maximize the lifespan of your expensive and mission-critical equipment. For example, you can build charging and data connections into locker compartments, so two-way radios, laptops, and other hardened electronic devices are always ready. You can also preserve digital evidence and assets in climate-controlled, ventilated, or refrigerated compartments to ensure they stay viable as long as possible.

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6. Better accountability

   Because every transaction is logged in real-time, senior officers, armory management staff, equipment managers, and law enforcement leadership get instant insight into how your law enforcement assets are used and when problems arise.

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7. New operational insights

   Switching from manual to smart law enforcement asset management means you get insights into more law enforcement operations in real time. You can also discover patterns in equipment and firearm use you might not have noticed without the help of data-gathering tools, like checklists from access panels and content surveillance.

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8. Workforce enablement

   ‘Workforce enablement’ is a concept borrowed from business productivity that has made waves in law enforcement in recent years. Workforce enablement aims to make your officers more effective by making them more self-sufficient at their jobs. It is the opposite of micromanagement

   To enable your workforce, you must find ways to get them the resources they need quickly and efficiently. Smart lockers are an obvious tool to achieve that goal. They automate transactions around the clock, so law enforcement personnel never depend on specific individuals to get the needed gear. All without compromising security.

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Smart lockers are excellent tools for managing all of your police gear. Their rugged steel frames and doors are sturdy enough to prevent forced entry attempts when lockers are in locations accessible to civilians. In addition, the smart terminal authorizes and logs all access attempts for superior security and accountability.   

You can configure different-sized storage compartments in any combination. For example, specialized long gun compartments are available for tactical units. In addition, you can equip smaller compartments with charging ports for all of your officers’ powered devices, like body cams, laptops, 2-way radios, and handheld electronics.  

Tracking and content surveillance tools help you keep tabs on your sensitive equipment. For example, specialized scales can tell if someone discharged an OC spray canister. In addition, RFID tag tracking can verify the contents of LTL weapons kits, radar, and LIDAR kits, duty bags, and even individually tagged narcotics vials inside medkits.  

Smart key management systems provide better control over your vehicle, equipment, and facility keys. For example, you can control who can sign out patrol cars, allow personnel to reserve certain vehicles from your motor pool for special duties, like surveillance, and rotate vehicle sign-outs to distribute wear and tear across your entire fleet. 

Officers can’t pick their favorite vehicles every time, racking up miles on just a few select vehicles while the rest depreciate with no use. So instead, the smart management system rotates vehicles based on your criteria. 

One of the most critical duties in law enforcement is police evidence management. Prosecutions and exonerations suffer if you can't demonstrate proper evidence chain of custody or lose evidence. Smart law enforcement asset management systems automatically log all evidence transactions, so you always have a complete custody record you can access anytime.

Because transactions are securely automated, smart lockers allow law enforcement personnel to deposit evidence after hours securely. When evidence managers are off-duty, second and third-shift personnel can still sign out the evidence for analysis or investigative work without compromising the chain of custody. In addition, your managers can generate audit and compliance reports instantly right from evidence storage cabinets.

Climate-controlled storage is more needed than ever before. Sworn officers need a wide variety of electronic devices to do their job. These devices require proper ventilation and storage temperatures to function at full capacity. You'll also need to maintain a range of temperature-sensitive evidence, including biological specimens like rape kits and DNA samples. 

You must protect electronic devices holding valuable digital evidence as well. Those require proper ventilation, cooling, and humidity control to remain viable.

(Video) Keep track of assets and keys with solutions tailored for law enforcement.

Before implementing a smart key management system, Garland County’s Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center deputies would report to work and obtain keys in a locked key box behind the old booking desk. The key to this box was on a keyring hung beside the supervisor’s desk. In addition, the facility used paper logs to record keys issued and returned. 

Chief Mark Chamberlain at Garland County Sheriff’s Office said of their old, manual processes, “Paper key log completion was sporadic at best. This system wasn’t reliable and resulted in major issues. There was no accountability for lost or misplaced keys. It was very easy for staff to take keys home accidentally. And staff often were spending their time hunting down keys all over the facility.

Chief Chamberlain describes Garland County’s move to an electronic key management system. “Real Time Networks was our vendor of choice for their KeyTracer smart lockers because of their proven ease of use from my previous experience with the system. KeyTracer systems provide real-time accountability for all security, emergency, and vehicle keys and allow us to control access to keys for use by certain ranks and assignments. For instance, Food Service and Medical staff cannot check out security-related keys. 

Garland County Chief Mark Chamberlain believes that the move to an automated system was beneficial for the facility and personnel at the Garland County Detention Center. “There’s no comparison between a KeyTracer system, paper sign-out logs, or other key issuance methods. Determining who can check out what keys enhances facility security by not relying on a staff member to issue and track key exchanges. KeyTracer tracks this information in real time and is not subject to human error or oversight.