Between the years 1980 and 2008, the number of Americans in prison quadrupled. Today, over 2 million adults are incarcerated in the United States, requiring significant security to keep prisoners confined and away from society. The success of a correctional facility—its ability to keep prisoners locked safely away—depends to a large degree on the efficacy of its locks. The locks used to keep prisoners in their cells, cell blocks, and within the prison itself are a big part of what keep those prisoners from reentering society until their time is served. Given their importance, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what locks are utilized in correctional settings, how they came to be used, and how they operate. And one important piece of that story is the Folger Adam key.

The internet age has made us more connected than we ever thought possible. Not only are we capable of connecting to each other, but more and more of our devices are sharing information as well. Networked devices range from phones and computers to cars to household appliances. As more devices join the network, it has become easy, convenient and cost-effective to remotely control many devices in your home or business. Access control is one of the systems that has taken advantage of this new era, including electronic door locking systems and other solutions that administer permissions and control the flow of people to a secure area, building or facility.

Key control, defined as an orderly and secure solution for addressing controlled usage and safekeeping of mechanical keys and/or plastic card keys, can and should be applied to businesses of all sizes and industries. Key control systems are tamper-proof systems designed so that only authorized users – using pre-programmed PIN codes, access cards, biometrics, or a combination of methods– can access keys, while the system’s software automatically records all activity.

In order to protect and serve communities and ensure that criminals are brought to justice, law enforcement officers often need to carry assets that are either dangerous, such as firearms, or sensitive, such as mobile devices with stored evidentiary information. Keeping these assets out of the wrong hands is vital to ensuring that judiciary procedure is followed, and people are not endangered by dangerous weaponry or hazardous materials. Employing an asset management solution can help in several ways to make sure that law enforcement possessions are tracked and secured.

In the last decade, mobile devices have fundamentally changed our day-to-day lives. Both in business and in our personal lives, mobile devices have reshaped how we work, play, shop, and perform daily tasks. We can use mobile devices to run our houses, order taxis and buy our groceries, and they are our main form of communication today. However, carrying expensive technology with us can create some serious risks, requiring new security policies to ensure the safety of these important devices.