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