What Are Duress Alarms?

Duress alarms (also referred to as panic buttons) are safety devices designed to discreetly call for help in dangerous situations. They're an essential tool for anyone working in remote or lone-working positions such as security and healthcare workers; and may also benefit the elderly and vulnerable individuals who cannot flee quickly enough or reach out for assistance themselves. Duress alarms can be used to notify emergency services, police and security staff of an imminent situation – for instance carjackings or kidnappings. Pressing a button or sending SMS text messages will activate these alarms; in dangerous situations like carjackings or kidnappings they can help ensure victims do not suffer further from violent intruders. Likewise the system can send alerts directly to family members assuring them of an individual's safety and wellbeing. These systems can either be installed as stand-alone devices or integrated into larger solutions with mobile apps that offer additional safety, management, compliance and reporting features. An excellent example is SHEQSY – an advanced smartphone-based lone worker safety monitoring solution featuring panic and duress alarm capabilities. There are various kinds of duress alarms on the market, ranging from wall-mounted buttons to wearable pendants. When activated using voice command or pushing a button or sensors to detect heart rate or breathing rates, these systems transmit their alert to a central station which in turn notifies designated individuals and dispatches emergency responders as appropriate. duress button Notifying only specific individuals is vitally important. Different situations demand different responses – sometimes it's best to notify medical personnel while other times organizational administrators and law enforcement should be alerted first. Selecting a duress alarm with silent activation features is also beneficial in deterring potential intruders from trying to tamper with it or trigger accidental activation by themselves. At the end of the day, it is essential to consult security experts in order to get their opinion on whether a duress alarm is necessary for your school. Such experts could include security integrators that already offer access control, intruder detection or CCTV systems to support school operations. They will have experience in installing such systems for commercial clients and can offer advice about which solutions best meet a school's individual requirements. For instance, they could suggest duress alarm systems that fit within both budget and security needs of an institution; furthermore they have extensive knowledge of other security systems that could offer a holistic and integrated solution – something which would benefit its overall physical security and help the school significantly.