VIP visits - How law enforcement organisations improve security using tamper evident labels

by Dr Adrian Steele

When a VIP visits allocation, police services and other law enforcement authorities need to do a lot of preparation work to secure the area from threats before the arrival. Buildings need to be searched, vehicles stopped, identities checked and the area secured.One of the biggest concerns for the site owner is the mechanisms used by the police to area searched areas as "secure", without permanently marking or damaging the surface. Expensive doors, glass panels, hardwood filing cabinets and storage areas are particularly sensitive to damage from conventional seals used by the search team.In response to this need, tamper evident seals has evolved considerably in recent years, as search teams get increasingly aware of their responsibilities to the sites that they are securing.Another growing requirement is the requirement for unique customisation such as numbering or barcoding - essential for tracking the threat of potential counterfeit seals used to secure otherwise secure areas.One common solution to these products is the growing use of self adhesive tamper evident seals and labels, which offer unique customisation of size, colour, print and tamper evident technology idea for special VIP visits. When security seal users are selecting a temporary seal solution be aware of the following common problems:1)Does the supplier know what they are talking about? Are they a specialist in tamper evidence or are they flogging you a stock solution at an inflated price because they see you as naive?2)Ask the manufacturer how they would get around their own technology - be wary of people who say that everything they sell is secure (send it to a specialist such as Mercian Labels Ltd and they'll show you it isn't!)3)Are the minimum run lengths small enough for your needs? Many users don't need millions of security seals, just enough for their application, and this can be an issue for small volume users.4)are there lots of different technologies available to suit the exact end user application? Some suppliers offer a wide range of techniques to provide an exact bespoke solution.Remember, if its an off the shelf solution, anyone else can buy it, its almost certainly NOT secure and there is no point taking a half baked approach to a problem where determined and clever criminal minds have been before you for a long time. Specialist suppliers of such technologies such as Mercian Labels offer short run tamper evident labels specifically for sealing surfaces without leaving a residue. Technologies include thermochromic inks, high temperature adhesives, security cuts, custom void messaging and DNA taggants for very specialised applications are also sometimes used.Further reading: www.securitylabels.com - tamper evident label specialists (international)www.selfadhesivelabels.com - Mercian Labels (UK)www.bsia.co.uk - the British Security Industies Association

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