Originally found on Local 6 (tv station?) website
RFID systems alerted staff to the infant's absence. Darrel Presley, deputy chief of the Sanford Police Department, near Orlando said:
"But in just those few minutes that it takes to gather the information and disseminate it, she was able to walk from the maternity ward through the exit and then depart the hospital,"
It also looks like she tried to abduct a different infant and than was challenged by it's parents. After that, she found this one.
I believe that statement speaks volumes. Most every maternity ward has RFID in place to alert staff. But few are calibrated correctly, and fewer still have video security tied into the system with live monitoring. It's fairly easy to sound an alarm if a baby is missing, but most institutions stop there.
Without the right integration of systems, and operational procedures - chances of stopping the abduction or quickly finding the suspect is slim.
If you've got RFID in place, and digital video - I highly suggest that they be integrated to trigger an alarm on the video system that can then be fed to a security console and other locations. Once the system is set off, security should instantly be alerted and information on the suspect should be following almost automatically. In this day and age, you can grab a still shot of the suspect from the digital video and email it to everyone who needs it in a matter of seconds. This reason alone is justification in most circles to give security staff PDAs with wi-fi connections. Not only can they be used for suspect pictures in an infant abduction, you can also give them access to snapshots of trespassed individuals, BOLOs, Material Safety Data Sheets, Building layouts and other critical information. If this is to be done, I suggest setting up a secure FTP or intranet that is bookmarked on the PDAs. Clicking a link on the PDA can pull up the most recent "page" that contains the information they need. That "page" is updated and maintained centrally.
Of course, I believe the best solution for things like this is a wi-fi based tracking system that gives you real time visibility and tracking throughout your wireless network. That's pricey, but something to definitely look into, get a quote for, and whip it out when you're asked for a solution.
