ORLANDO — An officer needs a spare patrol vehicle. First comes finding the employee responsible for the keys, then waiting while that person sorts through a pegboard. With the key finally in hand, the officer still needs to find the car.
Traka’s electronic key management system is designed to shorten that process. Authorized officers can retrieve designated keys themselves and receive parking information at checkout, while fleet personnel retain a record of who took each key.
“This is simplifying your process. This is eliminating your downtime,” said Christian Guzman, a regional sales manager for Traka USA.
At IACP 2026, Guzman described how the system can reduce manual key distribution while giving agencies more control over shared vehicles. Departments can set return deadlines and prevent a key from being reissued when an officer reports a critical vehicle fault.
Getting a key without waiting for someone to issue it
Agencies can assign access to specific keys by individual officer or group, allowing authorized personnel to retrieve a spare vehicle key directly from the electronic cabinet.
“You can control that per user or per group,” Guzman said.
An officer authorized to use pool vehicles does not automatically receive access to every key in the cabinet. The system records each removal and return, so fleet personnel can monitor use without handling every checkout.
The system records who removes a key and when it is returned, allowing fleet personnel to monitor use without personally handling each checkout.
Finding the vehicle after finding the key
The return process can collect information the next driver will need.
An officer returning a vehicle key can enter where the car is parked. That location is then available to the next officer collecting the key.
“So they don’t spend time looking around in the parking lot for this vehicle,” Guzman said. “They know exactly where it is.”
Agencies can also require fuel-level entries and odometer readings when keys are returned.
Those records depend on information entered by the driver. They give fleet personnel a way to collect vehicle-use information during the same transaction rather than through a separate paper log.
Flagging keys that have not come back
Guzman identified curfews as one of Traka’s most frequently used features.
An agency can specify how long a key may remain checked out or require its return by a particular time. A pool-vehicle key, for example, could be limited to eight hours.
If the deadline passes, the system alerts an administrator that the key remains out and identifies the user who removed it.
Fleet personnel can then follow up with that officer instead of first trying to establish who has the vehicle.
Keeping a reported vehicle problem from reaching the next shift
Traka’s fault-logging feature adds a condition check to the return process.
When an officer returns a vehicle key, the system can ask whether there is a problem. Selecting yes brings up a list of preconfigured faults, such as a check-engine light or low tire pressure.
“If it’s a critical fault that was entered, the system will lock that key in place,” Guzman said.
That restriction prevents another officer from checking out the key until an administrator clears the fault. Notifications can also alert the personnel responsible for repairs.
Requiring approval for sensitive keys
The system can also require a second person’s authorization before releasing a particular key.
Guzman used a building master key as an example. A user can request it, but a supervisor or administrator must enter credentials before the cabinet releases it.
Guzman described the feature as a fit for especially sensitive keys, since losing a building master could mean rekeying the entire building.
Applying the same controls to weapons and equipment
Traka also makes lockers that extend those access rules to devices such as handguns, rifles, radios, TASERs, body cameras and laptops. Guzman said agencies can limit compartment access by user or group, for example allowing only certain officers into handgun or rifle compartments.
He described an agency that uses the lockers to store handguns because it does not allow officers to take weapons home. Officers release a weapon from an assigned compartment at the start of a shift. Fault logging can be set up for the lockers as well, so an officer can report a problem such as a jam, misfire or a weapon needing cleaning. A device with a reported fault stays locked in its compartment until an administrator clears it, Guzman said.
A single locker can hold up to 100 compartments, and they can be mixed by device type. Guzman said some lockers include charging, and RFID lets the system recognize whether a device is in or out rather than only recording who opened a door.
Working with existing access controls
Guzman said Traka’s software is installed within the customer’s network.
“Our software is 100% on premises,” Guzman said. “That’s one thing that I like to emphasize. The end users have control of their data.”
During implementation, he asks agencies about their existing access control platforms. Supported integrations can connect those user records with Traka, reducing the need to maintain accounts separately.
When an employee leaves, disabling access in the integrated platform can also revoke that person’s access to the key management system, he said.
“So you don’t have to worry about managing two different sets of users,” Guzman said.
Learn more at Traka electronic key management.
