Latest News, Blogs & Announcements

A police force whose jobs are under threat has achieved a dramatic drop in its crime figures. Between April and June this year there were nearly 2,500 fewer victims of crime in County Durham compared with the same period last year. At the same time detections were up from 31 to 42 per cent. The figures cover a period when talks began between Durham and Northumbria forces about a merger, because of huge cuts in public spending. Police numbers are only going one way, which is down, so ensure your site is secure and safe with Tensor smart card access control technology. T1481 Access Control Scanners are supplied ready to install and can operate across a cable or Ethernet network. They can also be mounted next to your barriers or turnstiles enabling you to quickly set up a security network. The T1481 uses RF (radio frequency) technology to read your smart card and grant access. Unaffected by most external conditions, this type of access control scanner is durable, resilient and provides a consistent read range.

Government budget cuts should not mean that support for business security is neglected, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. In its report, “Localism and tackling crimes against business”, the FSB said that nearly half of small businesses (46%) were not reporting crime as they didn’t think it would achieve anything. More than a third (34%) thought the police would not be able to succeed in prosecution and a quarter (25%) said they thought the police just would not be interested. Tensor access control technology, allied with other products we supply like surveillance cameras and visitor monitoring, is all your business needs to stay secure. Our smart card access control system will control your car park barriers, turnstiles and site entrances, or almost any other mechanism that provides physical security. Doors may be configured to lock automatically on burglar alarms; while there is the option of CCTV tracking of video clips showing evidence quality footage of forced entries, alarm events, or users of smart cards gaining access or being denied.

In 2011 Wolverhampton City Council is facing a budget black hole of about £7.9 million – despite already making colossal savings. The finance department has started to draw up plans to cut £3.9m even before the government’s comprehensive spending review is revealed on October 20. Advertising and publicity budgets will be reduced by £26,000 per year. The controversial changes already implemented have seen the city’s tips close two days a week, while the price of hot food for the elderly and disabled has nearly doubled. A Tensor workplace time and attendance smart card recording network will save your employer on its personnel and payroll – ideal when you are looking at trimming the bottom line. The system has many advanced features: for example it is possible to view all information for an employee or a single department with the software. The Group Holiday Planner displays a whole year of absences at a time. This allows easy view of incidences of multiple absences, whether in the past or the future, making it an ideal management tool. Absence codes or colours are user definable with separate rules for each.

The autumn spending review means like every other department which needs trimming, police numbers will fall. Strathclyde Police has already said it plans to cut 200 officer posts through early retirement as well as inviting all its civilian staff to apply for voluntary redundancy. This is the reason the union representing Scotland's police officers wants to meet politicians of all parties to discuss the imminent loss of thousands of officers before the Scottish government is due to publish its budget in November. Tensor, the leaders in smart card time and attendance recording, can help your business recover its balance sheet if it is set to lose resources. The Tensor T32xx time and security station is simply the best of its kind – an all-in-one, affordable, IP enabled, smart card time and attendance recording and security access control workstation. It incorporates job booking and costing, labour hours analysis and security management including quality CCTV playback. It has a 480 x 272 pixel colour LCD with video playback and it is possible to add a touch screen as an optional feature.

The authorities feared a bomb or other explosive device had been set off in public toilets in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, because locals had heard a large bang coming from the building. Officers from the neighbouring constabulary and firefighters attended the scene, but thankfully no fire was occurring. A spokesman said: "The police are now involved in an investigation to assess the cause of the explosion," and added that the structure was widely and severely damaged. Tensor supply fully-warranted toilet turnstiles, which are coin operated and duty cycle rated for intensive use, as part of their unbeatable access control range. They allow local authorities to provide secure public conveniences to a good standard and generate revenue for the general day to day maintenance, cleaning and upkeep. The turnstile bodies have lockable lids to prevent unwanted access and are securely mounted to the floor plate. The separate coin box can be mounted either in front of the turnstile, at the side or alternatively can be wall mounted with the cash box at the rear, giving a vast range of configurable options.  

A cycle commuter claims bike crime is rising after doing his own research as a result of being a victim of theft. It has gone up in Cardiff by more than half according to Dr Joe O’Mahoney. To help combat bike thefts South Wales Police told Dr O’Mahoney they were looking into using special cycles as a way of tracking stolen bikes to the warehouses where they are often kept. This is an approach used successfully by the Metropolitan Police. Tensor Access Control systems use smart card technology to increase your building, site or office security. The system can be used for multi site companies and will control most standard types of internal or external electronic, magnetic door locks or releases. Using smart card technology, readers are located out of sight, so there is no need to remove your ID badge from a wallet or purse to use it. If your employees cycle to work, the addition of CCTV tracking of video clips will be showing evidence quality footage of anyone trying to steal their bikes.

Controversial financial giant Royal Bank of Scotland announced in a statement this week it will be trimming 500 more investment banking jobs in the United Kingdom due to changing market conditions. State-rescued RBS has axed nearly 30,000 jobs since October 2008 when it was slammed by the global financial crisis, and the firm pays big bonuses despite it having to be bailed out by the government. It currently employs a total of about 160,000 people worldwide. Tensor and its associated companies are market leaders in providing smart card and biometric time and attendance systems which make your business more efficient. The large colour display on Tensor’s T32xx clocking station make it simple and easy for employees to confirm their clockings, check flexi-time hours or make job-booking transactions. Staff clock on and off using smart cards which do not have to be taken out of a wallet or purse, and provide the fastest throughput in time and attendance. Special blue smart cards are available which meet hygiene and health and safety regulations.

An adventure playground at a community farm has been hit by suspected arson. No one was inside the Bristol premises at the time, said the city farm, which added that the adventure playground building would be closed until further. City farm interim director Ariaf Hussain said: "This is a real setback for the farm. The adventure playground building is a significant community resource offering activities for toddler groups, youth clubs and adult learners.” He added: "The farm is just recovering from a tough couple of years." Tensor's security and Time and Attendance products safeguard your staff with fire roll call software. Employees simply log themselves on and off site on the Tensor T32xx clocking station using either a smart card or key fob in the event of a fire or other emergency. The T32xx Biometric Clocking Unit is equipped with biometric fingerprint technology, GPS auto location, 480 x 272 pixel colour LCD with digital outputs to control door locks, fire alarms, wall clocks, etc; plus digital inputs for door monitoring, and alarms.

A Greater Manchester Fire Brigade Union spokesman has grave concerns about an order to hospital staff in the city that they must look for signs of a fire if an alarm triggers before dialling 999. Paul Fogerty said: "We've got great reservations about the policy not only around our members' safety, but also for the safety of the public we serve." Mr Fogerty said that the size of hospital buildings would make it difficult and potentially dangerous for a member of staff to establish whether there was a fire. Employees’ safety is paramount, and those at your workplace are in good hands with Tensor’s Fire Roll Call software. Your staff simply log themselves on and off site using either a smart card or key fob before assembling at their fire roll call point. In the event of an emergency, the fire roll call software announces the emergency while simultaneously activating your existing warning system. Instantaneous report generation of highly accurate attendance reports makes this software the best in the industry, and a must-have addition for any safety-conscious employer.

West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Matt Markham responded to Birmingham MP Jack Dromey’s prediction that more than one thousand officers would be lost. Mr Markham would not confirm jobs were at risk and said the force could not comment on speculation. “We understand there will be challenges ahead but we are confident we will deal with them while continuing to protect the public and maintaining the high quality of service in the communities we serve,” he said. The force’s budget has been cut by £6.9m this year as part of Whitehall steps to reduce the UK’s debt. WinTA Enterprise is the flagship product of our proven range of Windows™ based smart card time and attendance products. It provides total control over working rules, access control and job costing intended for larger companies or bodies like police forces. WinTA Enterprise holds details for up to 2000 employees, including a photograph of each person, if required. Searching for the details of a particular employee is quick and easy, with the ability to sort on any column or perform a surname search at the touch of a button.  

Hundreds of thousands of commuters face a travel nightmare due to a 24-hour ‘Tube’ strike finishing next Monday, October 4 over planned cuts to London Underground. Rail Maritime and Transport union general secretary Bob Crow said: "RMT remains totally opposed to the planned Tube cuts which will have devastating consequences for passenger and staff safety. We now have the ludicrous situation where passenger groups are being consulted after London Underground have already begun bulldozing through their plans.” He continued: “That makes a mockery of the process and reinforces the union position that the cuts be halted to allow proper discussions and negotiations.” One of the top Tensor workplace smart card products is a fast, accurate and easy-to-use way of recording employees' hours of working and site security. Suitable for organisations employing just a few people, right up to large multinational, multisided businesses – WinTA handles all your Time and Attendance and security and software needs in one integrated management system. It is simple to keep track of time worked throughout the year by a particular employee with the advanced Annualised Hours feature.

Police are in an urgent hunt for a group who attacked and mugged a student who has just started being a special constable. His assailants rifled through his pockets and stole his police ID card, wallet with £20 cash, his iPhone and cash cards. Police released pictures of three suspects wanted in connection with the robbery, which happened around Castle Street in Wolverhampton. Sc Simon Rooke, who is based at Bloxwich and who has only just started in the job, had been to a nightclub with friends and was trying to stop a fight outside. Surveillance digital CCTV camera and recording systems are simple additions to your Tensor hardware thanks to our clever and versatile smart card Access Control technology. The T351x range of hardware allows seamless interfacing to our other systems of Visitor Control. As the security network grows and requires more control points, further T3510 scanners are installed, working side by side within the same network. This “building block” approach is the most cost effective way to install Access Control.