CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 10:
A Focus on Corrections

While training an Area Contractor team this year, I emphasized the Corrections segment of Spacesaver’s Public Safety market—and at the break, one of the team members asked me why Corrections is so important. It’s a simple answer: this market segment values our design expertise.

Prison administration places a higher emphasis on the quality of solutions, the reputation of the provider, and the ability to complete a project on time. In short, corrections opportunities are a great fit for Spacesaver because they offer us a way to differentiate ourselves from our competition. Take a look at a few ways to better position yourself—and our products—in this market.

Utilize Spacesaver’s New Corrections Briefing

Recently, Spacesaver created a Corrections Briefing. It’s a presentation tool that can assist you with communicating our solutions and contribution to correctional facilities, prisons, and jails. The Briefing shows twelve areas of storage within a correctional facility—twelve areas where we can impact the need for additional space, for security of inventory, and for safety. In addition, the presentation talks about the high standards of our manufacturing plant, and our U.S.A.-made products—both things I’ve noticed are very important to the ones who make decisions about purchasing for these facilities.

Click here to access the briefing. (Please note: This link will take you to Spacesaver’s Media Room. To get to the Corrections Briefing presentation, please search the Media Room for “corrections briefing” and you will be able to access the presentation.)

Think of “Long-Term” Prison Residents: The Staff

During a segment at the AIA Justice Conference in November, I listened to a former director of the Ohio Department of Corrections speak about the long-term residents of state correctional facilities: the staff. While they get to go home, they spend more time at a facility than most of the inmates. Addressing the needs of these facilities need to address the needs of the staff.

Position Solutions Through the Lens of Safety

Safety, security, and morale are requirements that can differentiate our solutions from our competition. Put yourself in the position of a prison officer, and ask yourself some questions about the storage areas in your facility. How can the shelving be made into a weapon? What do we need to do to secure the components of the storage system to prevent inmates from dismantling the system? Does the design have blind spots where an inmate can hide or ambush an officer? Can the storage system be used to access a window or an egress? It’s important to consider things like air ducts, and to ensure the shelving couldn’t be used as a ladder to a way out of the room.

The time you invest in working with corrections staff will have an impact on their loyalty in choosing your solution—and that includes addressing their concerns. This loyalty will result in purchases through contracts instead of bids. There’s plenty of additional information to consider when creating solutions for these facilities, and we’re planning to continue talking about this segment in future Challenger Insights.

We’d also love to hear about your successes in the Corrections segment and any potential installations we can use as Lighthouse accounts for these facilities. Email McKenna Dustman and let her know if you’ve worked on a facility that would make a great case study.однотрубная система отопления частного домасамый хороший планшет в миреФільчаков Олександр Васильович прокурорсковороды гриль

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 9:
Precinct/District Evidence Rooms

Recently, I was in Cincinnati, Ohio with Gordon Kwiecinski of Patterson Pope, meeting with the Cincinnati Police Department about an evidence storage project. Cincinnati PD is what I’d call an “old school” department—there are over a 1,000 sworn officers, and those officers cover five districts. Cincinnati PD has a central evidence facility, but evidence is collected at each district office.

The interesting part of this set-up is the time period between the end of “normal business hours” and the next morning. Evidence and property that’s collected each day is held in each one of these district offices, and in the morning, an officer will bring all evidence from their district to the main office. The front of the evidence room is set up similar to a bank with transaction windows and a lobby. An officer from each district waits in the lobby for a turn to have the evidence received, logged, and a transaction receipt for the district.

Needless to say, I had many questions—and came away from the conversation wondering how sales reps might be able to better position ourselves when it comes to these precinct or district offices.

The first question that came to mind was, “How much patrol time are you losing?” With traffic, the districts located the farthest away must be burning at least two hours of their shift simply bringing evidence in and waiting for it to be processed. The second had to do with the central evidence facility—their evidence room consisted of a large section of shelves divided by month. After 12 months, they review the evidence and purge or store depending on the retention required by law. Because of this system, they held on to property and evidence a lot longer than necessary in many situations.

Don’t be afraid to offer a bold idea.

Once I learned how evidence was collected, transported, and processed, I couldn’t help but ask our contact, “Why not store evidence by size, and not date?” For these types of departments, it can be hard to break from the old way of thinking. When I asked about storing evidence by size, not date—I wasn’t trying to stir the pot—I was sincerely wanting to create a solution where those extra trips to the main office could be eliminated, extra space could be created through optimizing for size, and evidence room managers wouldn’t have to move evidence multiple times.

Offer to connect them with a similar Lighthouse account.

Considering the options for quality Spacesaver installations at a comparable size department, Gordon identified Louisville Police Department as a good Lighthouse reference. Louisville Police Department had installed several Spacesaver high density mobile systems, and they have a well-run evidence department. We put key members of the department in contact with Louisville for advice on how to reorganize their evidence in a way that would save time for the evidence staff and save space for the evidence room.

Have you worked with a police department with an interesting evidence storage situation? How did you help them see things in a new way—or create efficiencies and organization in spite of their storage processes? Let McKenna know at mdustman@spacesaver.com.купить колеса в украине24option com отзывы разводФильчаков прокурор харьковхайдайтер

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 8:
IAPE Classes

A few months ago, I had a sales rep contact me because an upcoming International Association of Property and Evidence (IAPE) Property Room Management Training class in his area was closed and he wanted to see if I might be able to help him get in.

After we got him squared away in the class, it got me thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to remind new and seasoned reps about these classes and the benefits of attendance. The IAPE course is a great way to learn about the trends and challenges affecting evidence storage, and the best part is that IAPE Executive Director Joe Latta teaches all the classes. To say that Joe knows a lot about evidence storage is a severe understatement.

Learn best practices, trends, and challenges.

Even if you’ve already attended an IAPE class, think about investing the time and money to attend it again. Joe is constantly updating the course, and with specific course sections on DNA storage issues, packaging standards, handling of firearms and narcotics, purging guidelines, accreditation/certification, and many other topics, it’s a crash course on evidence management that will help you sell to this audience.

Learn from like-minded people.

The class is interactive, which means that you’ll hear from 50-75 evidence professionals who are working to preserve chain of custody and create an organized, secure space for evidence on a daily basis. All of that insight is worth the price of the course.

Expand your network.

I remember the first IAPE class I attended as a sales rep. At the end of the class, I walked out with 60 new contacts—and five people in my area that needed my help immediately. As the two-day course unfolds, you develop friendships with the other attendees—and then they start to see you differently. When they do have a need, chances are you’ll be the first person they call. IAPE also offers video classes, but I’d suggest the in-person course for the networking.

IAPE is planning classes in eight different areas of the United States over the next six months. To see if they’re planning one in your area, head to their website.

Have you taken the IAPE course? What did you take away from the course that you’ve been able to apply in your Public Safety selling? Let McKenna know at mdustman@spacesaver.com.магазин телефонышвейцария горные лыжиФільчаков Олександр Васильовичсмс флирт

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 7:
The Importance of Lighthouse Accounts

When I was a Spacesaver Group sales rep, one of my teammates at a nearby area contractor asked if I had an awesome locker installation that a team from Salt Lake City PD could visit. I did—and arranged tours for the group at a few facilities, including Colorado’s Parker Police Department.

Recently, I had the opportunity to tour the completed Salt Lake City Public Safety Building—and after learning that SLC visited twenty police departments before building their own, I quickly realized just how important Lighthouse Accounts are in the sales process.

What is a Lighthouse?

Just as lighthouses have historically been used as navigational aids for ships and boats, a Lighthouse Account is a project that shows you have the knowledge and the skills to create a solution for an end-user. They’re the projects that show unique capabilities, the ones you’re most proud of, and the ones that resulted in a great relationship with an end-user. Many of our Public Safety case studies are Lighthouses—Salt Lake City’s Public Safety Building, Houston Police Department, and more. Public Safety Lighthouses exist in your territories today—in fact, you’ve most likely sold one or two of them yourself.

How to Use Lighthouses

Law enforcement entities, jails, corrections facilities and justice centers all share the common trait of visiting newer installations prior to new construction or renovation. For these projects, the most important factor is getting perspective from their peers—what works well, what would you do differently, what influenced your decision, etc. How can you leverage your own Lighthouse accounts with these groups? Here are a few suggestions:

Ask questions
Asking questions like “What was the experience like working with our company? What should we do to enhance the sales experience? Would you be willing to show your facility to other public safety professionals?” will give you a pretty good idea of a Lighthouse’s potential.

Set up tours
I didn’t go on many Lighthouse tours with prospective clients—an officer who had no vested interest in my solution (or me) did the best selling—he wears the badge, and he owns the solution. Set up the tour early and you’ll enjoy the advantage of a prospect that sees you as someone who can help achieve his or her goals.

Follow up with Lighthouses
Maintaining a relationship with your Lighthouse account can help you identify emerging opportunities. An account may help you connect with a key contact that is getting bombarded by other sales reps. A Lighthouse improves your position—when you go to an open house or a trade show, who is around the chief you know? Other chiefs. These types of accounts offer a great way to network.

Share your Lighthouses
One of our reps made a binder with photos and descriptions of Lighthouse installations in his territory, which he used as a “portable tour.” If you don’t have any Lighthouses of your own, Spacesaver’s new Public Safety iPad app has stories, videos, and photos, as does the Spacesaver website.

What are some of the Lighthouse Accounts you’ve identified in your territory? How have you leveraged your Lighthouses to create additional sales? Email mdustman@spacesaver.com and let Melissa know.самсунг андроид 4сумка для рыбалкилобановский александр игоревичиндексация сайта гугл

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 6:
Riot Gear Storage

As protests and civil disturbances become more prevalent, the police use of riot gear has also grown. For many departments, stocking up on this type of equipment (shields, helmets, tear gas canisters, rubber bullets, etc.) ensures that officers are protected in case of a violent situation—which means that it’s important that this type of gear be stored securely.

When it comes to riot gear, it’s a security issue, but it’s also an inventory issue. As an officer at Aurora PD told me, “We don’t use this stuff very often—and it’s expensive. We need to make sure that in the few cases that we need it, it’s there. There’s nothing worse than needing to respond to an incident and then having to make sure that everyone has a shield and a helmet.”

Riot Gear Solutions

In working with reps, I’ve seen several solutions to the quick access/secure storage challenge that riot gear provides:

Wheelhouse with Audit Control
At Aurora PD (photo below, left), the department’s riot gear was stored on a specific carriage of a Wheelhouse system with PIN-code access. Only specific personnel had access to this particular carriage, which helped with inventory control and eliminating gear misplacement.

4-Post Shelving
At the Wake County Detention Center (photo below, center), 4-post shelving was used to create a fast-access solution for riot masks, shields, armor, and more within a designated Riot Gear storage space. Shields were kept upright and separated with the help of metal dividers, while shelves of optimized heights kept additional equipment organized. For Skokie Police Department’s (photo below, right) Tactical Intervention Unit (TIU), four-post shelving was used to create 23 large, open metal lockers—essentially creating large cubbies for each TIU team member.

Riot Gear Opportunities

Where to Look
In your territory, target law enforcement agencies near cities or in a college town, and let’s not forget campus police. In major city agencies, the person who can make a decision about riot gear storage may be found at the precinct or district office level. Most large agencies will also have a Quartermaster or Supply department, and campus police will typically have an officer responsible for riot gear and riot response support.

What to Ask
Some great questions to start with include: How to do you inventory your riot gear to make sure nothing’s missing? How often? How is the gear issued? Who is responsible for issuing the gear? Who has access to the area where the gear is stored? How is access controlled? Seek what the solution “must have” to be successful—and be aware that the person you’re speaking with may not know the answer, as some departments have never issued riot gear.

Have you had success with riot gear storage? What kinds of insights did you find as a result of assisting with this type of storage? Email your experience to McKenna at mdustman@spacesaver.com.заказать межкомнатные двери с шумоизоляциейпродукцииданильченко юрий брониславович прокурорФільчаков Олександр Васильович

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 5:
Sales Lessons From a Small PD Visit

Our first Challenger Insight discussed a revitalized approach for selling to small police departments, and I wanted to take the time to provide a real-life example to walk through this approach.

A few weeks ago, several members of Spacesaver’s Marketing Team and I headed to a small department in the Madison area to gather some insights related to their evidence storage. The department had been the subject of an article in its local paper, and highlighted the lack of space in their 16-year-old building, particularly when it came to evidence processing and long-term evidence storage. They had gone so far as to ask a local architecture firm to conduct a space needs analysis of the facility.

With a population of 25,000 and 48 sworn officers, they’re the perfect example of a small department who is struggling with making their current space work. We gained plenty of insight—and it’s helped us reposition the way Spacesaver markets ourselves to facilities that may need to optimize their space before money for a renovation or a new building is available.

Insufficient space

The space needs analysis conducted for the department told them what they already knew—that the 11,000 square feet the department inhabited was sufficient when their building was constructed in 1999—now, it required an additional 13,000 square feet. The evidence processing and long-term storage space alone needed an additional 4,000 square feet.

The lieutenant we talked to was the one who actually presented the assessment to the city’s council. He was hopeful that the council would see that they needed a new building—or a renovation to the current one—sooner rather than later. The department was prepared to grin and bear it for the next five or ten years—but it was getting harder to ignore the overwhelming need for space, and the detectives assigned to evidence and property were purging just to find space on their shelves.

Learning the department’s pain points

In meeting the lieutenant, I could see he thought we were trying to sell him a solution he couldn’t afford. He was quick to say that there was limited funding and no chance of a new space for several years. I told him that we weren’t there to sell him anything—we simply wanted to ask questions about his current processes and have a look around his evidence room.

My first question:
“Let’s say you could go back to 1999. Or, let’s say it’s 2025 and you’re getting a new police department building. What are the most important things to tackle from an evidence storage perspective?”

The lieutenant didn’t hesitate. He talked about wanting more modern evidence lockers that didn’t require the kinds of keys they currently had—the process of having a physical key and putting that in someone’s mailbox made him nervous. The obvious change would be additional storage space for the long-term evidence—he knew about mobile shelving (the department already had a mobile system in the Records Room) and knew that would be a great solution to creating additional space for more evidence and making room for a larger evidence processing/purging area—but he knew it cost more than they could get approved through their budget.

Optimizing shelving type and density

In listening to the lieutenant’s wish list, I knew that there were some efficiencies that we could get him just by optimizing static shelving. The shelving they were currently using was wide span with particleboard. Nothing wrong with wide span—but the shelves included support beams that were 4” tall, and the banker’s boxes being stored on those shelves weren’t heavy enough to need that kind of shelf. In addition to the height of the beams, the length and width of the open space between shelves was created all sorts of wasted space. 72” wide shelves meant that five 12.5” long banker’s boxes could fit on a shelf with plenty of empty space.

I suggested utilizing 4-post shelving, which would have a much shorter shelf height. If we decreased the length of the shelves to 42” instead of 72”, it would mean that three boxes could fit efficiently on a shelf with no wasted space. By decreasing the width of the shelving units but increasing the length, we could get more 4-post shelving units into the same space—therefore, more boxes.

A phased approach

In the case of this department, any items outside a $2,500 purchase required a City Manager approval—and purchases above $2,500 or more required formal City Council approval. To create an immediate way to gain a few months of space, I mentioned that this solution could be purchased incrementally. By purchasing and installing the new 4-post shelving in four phases, the department could gain storage space incrementally without creating budgetary constraints. And, in changing over the shelving, we could yield a 90% increase in storage—from the department’s current 520 boxes to 987 boxes.

In the future, when funding and a new building became a reality, the 4-post could easily mount onto mobile carriages. With the mobile carriages and a reorientation of the room, 32% more boxes could be stored—from 987 to 1,155 boxes.

Creating an advocate

As I was explaining all of this, I could literally see the light bulb go off in his head.

“Before you reached out to me, we honestly didn’t think we could do anything to the evidence room and other spaces that wouldn’t require a substantial amount of funding,” he said. “We were just hoping that the city would continue to spin their wheels and that in five years, we’d have a new evidence room.

A phased approach makes sense—and if we do get a new space in five or ten years, we’re several steps ahead of the process in terms of having systems that can be moved in without much effort.” He paused for a second. “Do you have time to take a look at something else?”

Retrofitting locker benches

“There’s a frustration that I’ve been wanting to solve for years.” In the men’s locker room, he points to an open locker with a duty vest hanging on a typical clothes hanger. “We want to be able to store these vests flat so that they retain their shape and dry properly after the officers come back from a shift. With these old lockers, there’s no way we can do that.”

“There is,” I told him. “We can retrofit these lockers with bench drawers. We keep the existing locker on the top, and install a bench with a pullout drawer on the bottom. The bench can be designed with a fitted tray for drying duty vests, and there’s extra room for boots and shoes.”

What this means for you

Some of you might be thinking, “Okay, Gary—that’s great. But how do I make a living with a bit of 4-post shelving every year and retrofitting locker bases?”—and I hear you. These sales are small—but opportunities exist for you to propose a solution, get an order, and expand your network.

My experience was these types of projects closed quicker, with less effort, at good margins. In partnering with these small departments, we become a trusted advisor—and you’ll be the first call they make when that new building gets funded.

Now that we have all this insight, now what?

Last week, you received a communication from Spacesaver called “MUST READ: New Spacesaver Marketing & Sales Tools”. In that email, many links were provided to content that speaks to the struggles of departments like this one in Wisconsin—in fact, visiting this particular department is where the light bulb went off for us.

These are departments with no space, no funding, and no new building or renovation in sight—so they’re specifically looking for solutions that can get them in a comfortable spot until a new location or additional funds are a reality. This is why we created tools like the Law Enforcement: Space Optimization & Organization brochure as well as the Info Sheets for the Narcotics Evidence Locker (NEL) and Weapons Evidence Locker (WEL).

If you didn’t get the email regarding the sales tools, or have feedback, please let us know and we’ll make sure you’re on our list!

Have you had success with optimizing or improving Small Police Departments? Are there other applications that you’ve identified? Email McKenna at mdustman@spacesaver.com to share your insights.купить аккумулятор для эхолотанежный макияж на выпускной для карих глазДанильченко Юрий отзывыснегоходы обувь

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 4:
Create Value, Win the Sale

Maybe this has happened to you. Let’s say you’re asked to come in for a space assessment by a large police department who needs additional evidence room storage. You go in, do a short assessment, ask a few questions, take measurements— and go back to your office to draw a system in Configura.

The solution is an ActivRAC system that comes out to be $500,000. You go back to the department, talk with the Chief, and pitch your solution. The Chief’s eyes grow wide, and with shock and frustration in his voice, he says, “No way.”

What happened? Didn’t he say he had a huge problem in his evidence room?

Absolutely — but he doesn’t see his problem as one that costs $500,000. In order to win the sale, you need to create value. But what does that mean — and how do you go about doing that? Click above to take a look at an infographic that walks you through a much different approach. 

Have you had success communicating the value you can add to a Public Safety sale? Email McKenna at mdustman@spacesaver.com to share your insights.дверь межкомнатная 2126 велюр серыйvitomaxФильчаков прокурор харьковачто такое оптимизация сайта

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 3:
Why You Should Focus on Crime Lab Storage

As far as niches within the Public Safety market go, Spacesaver is no stranger to creating solutions for crime labs. We’ve written case studies about how our high-density mobile storage solutions and weapons racks have solved the storage challenges of two agencies—one in the Northeast and one in the Chicago area—and there are several more that we’ve worked with across the United States.

However, there’s a new reason to take a look at these agencies. Through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), the U.S. Department of Justice has formed a partnership with the New York District Attorney’s Office to expand the number of site receiving funding to address what’s become a huge issue at agencies around the country—the huge backlog of untested sexual assault kits.

A few weeks ago, this partnership announced that they will provide over $79 million to 43 agencies in 27 states to provide resources to test approximately 70,000 previously untested sexual assault kits.

This announcement represents a huge opportunity for Spacesaver products. To give this some context, two of the states that received funding, Oregon and Michigan, have 5,000 and 3,600 untested kits being stored in evidence rooms, respectively—and both states say that number is a rough estimate. Whether a sexual assault kit is in an evidence room, waiting to be shipped out to the crime lab or if it’s in the crime lab, waiting to be tested, the challenge is the same—storing these kits in a compact way AND in a way that won’t compromise the evidence. In fact, many of the agencies that have processed their backlog of kits have found that the DNA evidence inside had deteriorated due to improper storage.

Providing a dense, safe place to store sexual assault kits are just one piece of how we can offer solutions to crime labs.

Crime Lab Storage Applications:

• In-Process Evidence Testing Lockers
  At Colorado’s Jefferson County Crime Lab, evidence is checked into a storage room, and a request is made to a Forensic Examiners to pick up the evidence for testing. Many times, evidence going through testing won’t be complete when a technician is ready to leave for the day. To aid with this issue, modified FreeStyle lockers were created and installed for each technician to ensure in-process evidence had an appropriate place.
• Weapons Library Storage
  A weapons library serves as a hand-on reference catalog–literally–for weapons. For crime labs, it’s a way to study and test firearms to support investigations–and by maintaining a working library of virtually every handgun and rifle historically available, examiners are able to identify what weapons might have been used in criminal acts.In the case of the Illinois Metro Crime Lab, Curt Rogers from Bradford Systems saw that it was important for lab technicians to be able to configure the storage based on the types of weapons that were being stored at a given time, so to compact the storage into a smaller footprint while making it fully configurable, high-density mobile shelving was paired with WeaponsWRX. The FBI’s Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia utilized weapons and pistol racks on high-density mobile. If you haven’t seen the video of the FBI Lab, it’s worth a look—our systems are featured prominently!
• Long-Term Evidence Storage
  Crime labs are very similar to the evidence rooms of a police department. The amount of evidence keeps increasing, the space in which to store that evidence isn’t getting any bigger, and a majority of DNA/biological storage needs to be kept indefinitely, there’s minimal chances to purge. And, because the lab is cycling through evidence constantly—sending it out, taking items in—any storage solution needs to ensure pieces are easy to find. There’s also a space concern with temperature-controlled storage for certain types of evidence–it’s costly to build or add on to refrigerated storage. There is no shortage of high-density mobile storage solutions for this audience, from a Wheelhouse solution that is cost-effective and can be moved if needed, to an ActivRAC Stainless Steel solution for the evidence that needs to be refrigerated.

Have you had success with crime lab storage? Are there other applications that you’ve identified? Email McKenna at mdustman@spacesaver.com to share your insights.магазины ноутбуковрецепты с блендеромлобановский харьков класспродвижение youtube

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.фланец гидроаккумулятора джилексчебоксарские заводыОлександр Васильович Фільчаковкак рисавать

CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 1:
Project Funding & Approach to Small Police Departments

For many of us, small police departments (what we refer to as Tier 2 or Tier 3 departments) aren’t the top priority when it comes to leads on public safety projects.

Typically, these departments lack the funding of their Tier 1 or Tier 2 counterparts, and new construction or renovation may take several years to materialize. In some cases, the new building these departments are hoping for simply doesn’t happen.

So, why concentrate on these types of PD’s?

Small but mighty, these departments still have the same standards to uphold with regard to secure storage and protecting the chain of custody. They are running out of storage at an alarming rate, and they are also in need of updated storage solutions that can help them maintain best practices and work with the advanced evidence technologies they’ve implemented.

The other reason? 80% of police departments in the United States serve populations of 10,000 people or less�representing a big opportunity for our solutions. 73% of Law Enforcement Agencies have fewer than 50 Sworn Officers.

• Small Departments buy differently
  While they may not have access to municipal bonds, raise special taxes, or even have someone pursue grants for funding, these departments still have budgets and some get funds from property auctions and task force participation. The smaller departments often have less bureaucracy. While the sale may not be as big, the sale is not often competed and closes quicker than a larger project. A Spacesaver Champion once told me, There are no small sales, some are bigger than others.
• Identify the Mobilizer
  I met with a lieutenant this year that referred to himself as a Hard Charger�. He was describing the way he was not afraid to ask the city council for funds needed to improve the evidence storage at his facility. He is a Mobilizer�. Mobilizers understand that buying has changed. Procurement isn’t as simple as a single contact who has purchase authority. Many purchases today involve multiple people in the purchase process. What a chief could buy based on his budget authority now requires City Council approval, City Manager Approval, and Finance Approval. The Mobilizer is the person that identifies the people involved in the purchase decision and mobilizes procurement. It is simpler to find a mobilizer in a small department. It’s often the Chief, but a Lieutenant, a Sergeant, even a City Manager could mobilize the resources to improve their organization.

These are just a few of the reasons to get on the radar of these departments. Take a look at the others below.

Tier 3 Police Departments: A How-to Approach

• Familiarize yourself with types of PD funding
  There are many different ways the public safety market acquires funding. Besides a standard department budget, there are bonds, special taxes, grants, property auctions, tax force seizures, and municipal leases. When you’re meeting with a Mobilizer, ask about their purchasing process and the types of funding they receive.
• Help them develop a plan for that funding
  As a lieutenant at Fitchburg PD recently remarked, “We don’t usually get funding unless we have a plan. Getting involved when a department is in the space analysis stage �when they’re first assessing their needs and making that knowledge public� can create a situation where you can assist them with earmarking funds for the storage challenges that are high priority.
• Make them aware of purchasing vehicles
  NJPA, State, and GSA contracts can be of tremendous help to these small departments. The spirit of purchasing cooperatives is leveraging procurement work done by another procurement agency. It’s a huge advantage to the end-user, who doesn’t have to waste valuable time putting a project out to bid.
• 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.
• Look at a potential project in phases
  Instead of going for a large sale right away, the best approach for these departments is to break apart an overall storage solution into much more “digestable” phases. For instance, if a department knows they won’t get a new building for another 10 years but needs more space for evidence now, a Wheelhouse system sold in phases by carriage might be the answer to their current needs—and it could be reconfigured, moved, and used once they get their new location. A $10,000 solution won’t have as much sticker shock as a $100,000 solution, and at that point, you’ve set yourself up as a trusted resource they can depend on to walk them through bigger projects in the future. Ten $10,000 sales are less likely to find competition than a single $100,000 sale. You will make a difference for your customer and receive beter compensation. It is worth your time.
• Use a smaller solution as a way to get in the door
  Instead of thinking about an entirely new evidence storage system or locker room, think about smaller solutions that can solve their problems in the present. If they have a small amount of narcotics or weapons evidence but still have the same need to keep these items secure, our Narcotics Evidence Locker or Weapons Evidence Locker can solve their need—and create a gateway for additional sales. Even helping them reconfigure their existing static shelving can create a small sale—and trust.
• Leverage the budget process
  Most departments retain part of the budget until the end of the year, and then hurry to spend every dollar. A section of RaptorRAC for creating organized bulk item evidence storage, or a couple sections of 4-Post shelving with slotted shelves and dividers could remedy the envelopes jammed in vertical filing cabinets that take up space and don’t open properly.

Spacesaver is currently testing ways to gain the attention of this particular market segment—starting with a page on our website geared toward attracting these Tier 2/Tier 3 departments. The page leverages readily available solutions and how our storage experts can help them with storage needs both now and when they acquire funding.

Check out Spacesaver's Tier2/Tier3 Police Department Page

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