CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 2:
Fast Response Locker Applications
With the prevalence of school shootings, airport crimes, and dangerous illegal activities anywhere there’s a crowd of people, a sobering reality has emerged—security resources are starting to become commonplace in locations where they might not have been a few decades ago. Schools, courthouses, city halls, airport baggage areas, and hospitals are beginning to look at ways to have secure, quick access to weapons and gear in the event of an emergency. Think of it as “point-of-need” storage for weapons access.
Several Spacesaver sales reps have responded to this trend, creating what I like to call a Fast Response Locker (FRL)—a storage cabinet with a locking mechanism that keeps the content secure and allows immediate access to the weapons and gear inside. Security and immediacy are just one piece of this solution—the other factor is these end-users want this locker to look like anything but a gun cabinet.
If you’re thinking that already sounds like something in Spacesaver’s product portfolio, you’d be right. The majority of the FRL’s our reps have created have been modified FreeStyle® Personal Storage Lockers. Just as FreeStyle lockers are infinitely configurable based on an officer’s needs, it’s good to remember that our solutions don’t have to be isolated to a specific use. Our lockers go way beyond simply storing uniforms and gear.
A few great examples of FRLs include:
- Quick Rifle Access for School Resource Officers
When a school district in LaCrosse, Wisconsin was looking for a custom locker for weapons storage, Storage Systems Midwest (SSM) customized a FreeStyle locker to have a bottom compartment large enough to store a rifle, with two smaller compartments on the top of evidence storage, duty bag storage, and ammo storage for LaCrosse’s School Resource Officer. The bottom portion of the locker was outfitted with a Digilock to allow keyless access, and an EZRail to store the rifle in an upright, secure position at all times. Since then, SSM has created similar solutions for several school districts in the state of Wisconsin. Read about the full solution. - “Point of Need” Healthcare Facility Weapons Storage
Denver Health Medical Center is one of Colorado’s largest healthcare institutions—and it’s also the place the Denver Sheriff takes inmates when they’re in need of medical care. For these reasons, a police officer was assigned to Denver Health—and Improve Group worked with them to install FRL’s designed to look like a regular file cabinet. - Fast Access for Courthouse & Airports
Courthouses and airports have one thing in common—the fact that they’re public places mean that they’re accessible to everyone. Therefore, they’re also vulnerable to random acts of violence. At last year’s IACP (International Association Chiefs of Police) conference, I spoke with the Tampa Airport Authority, who were exploring these types of lockers. Similarly, Patterson Pope is currently working with an end-user to install a type of FRL in a courthouse for fast, secure access to weapons. - Help them prioritize
A good question to ask is,“If the funding was there, what would you change immediately?” The top items they talk about could potentially be the beginning of a phased approach at this department.
While it’s true that these lockers are a small sale, it’s also worth remembering that they could lead to a larger solution. Small solutions like the FRL can be the answer to an immediate problem–and can act as a sort of lead generator that can make you a bit of money, too.
Do you have any examples of a Fast Response Locker that you’ve worked on, or a unique application for FRL’s that we’ve missed? Email McKenna at mdustman@spacesaver.com to tell your story—we may use it as the basis of an upcoming Challenger Insight.