Before heading out on patrol, Richardson Police Department officers had to check every shotgun, radio, citation printer and other assigned item in their vehicle. Finding the equipment and manually recording serial numbers could take up to 15 minutes per shift.
Working with GlobeRanger, the Texas department introduced handheld RFID checks using Xerafy tags. Officers could complete the inventory and be ready to leave in less than a minute, while the software recorded custody and flagged missing equipment.
The program covered more than 6,000 tagged assets. Expanding RFID from uniforms to patrol equipment required tags and attachment methods suited to metal surfaces, limited mounting space and heat inside parked vehicles.
“In less than a minute the officer is ready to roll,” says Richardson Police Chief Jimmy Spivey. “You multiply 15 minutes a day saved by all the officers every day of the week, and the system is a massive time saver.”
Checking Equipment Before Each Shift
At the start of a shift, the incoming officer sweeps the patrol vehicle with a handheld RFID reader. Tags attached to the weapons and other equipment identify each item to GlobeRanger’s GR-AWARE-PD software, which records its serial number and the date and time of the check.
The transaction updates the custody record, showing which officer last had each item. If equipment expected in the vehicle is missing, the software alerts the officer so it can be found or replaced before patrol.
“Most assets that are missing aren’t really lost, they’re just misplaced,” explains Captain Danny Martin.
An officer might bring equipment inside at the end of a shift instead of leaving it in the vehicle. Previously, the next officer had to search for the item and contact the colleague who last used the car. With RFID, staff can also sweep the locker room to locate tagged equipment.
The combination of inventory checks and custody records gives officers two useful answers at handover: whether the vehicle has its assigned equipment, and who last had an item that is missing.
From Uniform Accountability to Patrol Equipment
Richardson PD first adopted RFID to track uniforms. Older garments were not always returned when replacements were issued, leaving the department uncertain about which items remained in circulation. Concerns about police impersonation made that accountability gap more significant.
Reconciling the records meant asking every officer to bring in all their uniform pieces for a manual inventory. Working with GlobeRanger, the department replaced that process with RFID records linking garments to individual officers. At issue, staff scanned the officer’s ID card and the clothing together to record the assignment.
Better records and less time spent on uniform inventory prompted the department to extend RFID to patrol vehicles. That expansion introduced a different tagging challenge: identifying weapons, electronics and other equipment with varied surfaces and mounting constraints.
Selecting Tags for Metal, Heat and Limited Space
Patrol vehicles carry shotguns, computers, radios, radar guns and other equipment with different materials and mounting surfaces. Metal can interfere with general-purpose RFID tags, while the heat inside parked vehicles creates an additional challenge for both tags and adhesives. Temperatures inside Richardson’s unattended squad cars routinely exceeded 120°F (49°C).
GlobeRanger selected Xerafy to help match tags and attachment methods to those conditions. The deployment used several formats according to the available space and the way each asset was handled:
XS series: Small on-metal tags used on cell phones and voice recorders.
PICO series: Compact rugged tags used across a variety of equipment.
Metal Skin® Titanium: Low-profile labels used on handguns and other assets where protrusion needed to be minimized.
The selection reflected the range of equipment in each vehicle. Small electronics required compact formats, while larger assets offered more room for attachment.
Attaching Tags Without Affecting Equipment Use
Tags were supplied pre-encoded with unique identifiers and permanently attached to the equipment. Mounting methods varied with the asset.
On shotguns, tags were sealed inside the stocks, protecting the identification without changing the feel of the weapon. Citation printers and other equipment allowed tags to be attached directly to an external surface.
Tag format and attachment were therefore selected together: the tag had to fit the available space, remain attached in vehicle conditions and read in its installed position. This combination enabled officers to inventory the tagged equipment with a quick handheld sweep.
More Time Available for Patrol
“In less than a minute the officer is ready to roll,” said Richardson Police Chief Jimmy Spivey.
The previous manual check could take up to 15 minutes per officer. With 10 to 16 officers on each of three daily shifts, the department estimated that RFID inventory checks saved 7.5 to 12 staff hours a day. Those figures reflected its reported staffing levels and approximate time savings.
The benefit also extended to resolving missing equipment. Officers could identify a discrepancy before leaving, check who last held the item and use a handheld reader to help locate it.
“We are stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars,” said Captain Danny Martin, explaining the department’s priority of using its resources efficiently.
Following its experience with patrol vehicles, Richardson PD planned to extend RFID tracking to equipment inside its buildings.
“RFID technology is just fabulous. We know where every asset is,” says Spivey, who has hosted visitors from several other police departments that are interested in developing similar systems. “This is going to be the way police departments manage their assets in the future.”
Evaluating RFID for Weapons and Patrol Equipment
Start with a representative vehicle loadout, including weapons, radios and other assigned equipment. Compare tags in the available mounting spaces, check attachment against vehicle heat and routine handling, and test installed reads with the handheld reader your officers will use. Run a complete handover check to confirm that the software identifies missing items and records custody against the correct officer.
The Weapon Tracking Test Pack provides samples for evaluating tag fit and read performance on your equipment.
Contact Xerafy Engineering for tag recommendations, attachment guidance and pricing.
Xerafy is a pioneer in Industrial RFID, bringing to market several innovations that enable advanced industrial identification and automation capabilities.
In addition to a complete range of field-proven RFID tags available off-the-shelf, Xerafy offers Custom RFID Tags services, covering everything from a personalization service bureau to custom-design engineering capabilities.
