Panic alarms are some of the most useful, and most damaging security devices out there.
Their relative ease of installation and low cost (most of the time just tacked on to existing alarm or access control systems) make them very attractive to anyone who'd like to have help on the way at a moment's notice.
When they are well thought out, planned and supported there is no substitute.
When they are just thrown in place to appease frightened employees, they can be a disaster waiting to happen.
Here are my top suggestions and warnings:
Warnings:
1. Make sure you help the users develop a solid policy for the alarm's use. Include the criteria for pressing the alarm, local response, testing and maintanence.
2. Put a lot of thought into who should respond and how they do it. Try to match up the appropriate level of response to known and likely threats. Also consider the impact a police officer taking charge of a situation has to their operation (especially in clinical environments where the MDs like to have total control). Try like hell to have local response check out a situation first and call the off site responders with details. There's nothing worse than responding to a panic alarm and not having any idea what's going on.
3. Protect the communication method between the alarm system and monitoring service. If it's a phone line, make sure it's tagged physically and administratively so it's not accidentally disconnected. Budget managers are notorious for disconnecting phone lines if they are not used often and they can't figure out what they are for. Always consider using a back-up communication method (cellular, IP, etc)
4. If you're using basic RF wireless units that don't pinpoint the button's location, assign strict "zones" for each alarm. Make sure it's fully known that responders won't know exactly where you are if you use the alarm outside it's zone. Also make sure folks don't go off-site with the alarms in their pocket or the system will alert for low battery in the transmitter.
Suggestions:
1. LOCAL ENUNCIATION!! What good is the alarm to the other people at the location if they don't know something is wrong? Design a way to alert people in adjacent areas that the alarm has been pressed and have them develop plans. Many times - duress words can be used on the intercom instead of multiple enunciation points (i.e. "Paging Dr. Black", "Amanda, you have a call on line 2"). This is extremely important to integrate into the policy and plans. More often than not - a manager showing up and saying "how can I help you sir?" can diffuse the problem. At that point the off-site response can be called off or can standby if needed.
2. If the budget allows it, consider a pinpoint location system - especially in large, complex organizations. I've seen systems that ride on the existing wi-fi backbone that look very promising. They use the wi-fi routers and map out the signal with attached devices over a drawing of the facility. Of course this would only be helpful if someone was looking at the system when the alarm is used so plan that in as well. This is also the kind of system that can be integrated into critical asset tracking, critical personal tracking and even infant abduction / psych wandering, etc.. And of course this is the kind of thing that would be beneficial to tie into the access control system if one is present.
3. More and more alarm systems are using two way communication units to have the on-site users talk to the monitoring service. In the case of panic alarms, these can be switched to send the audio from the site only. This goes in line with making sure the video system is extended to cover the panic alarm area as well (mostly in lobby applications). If the monitoring service / console can see and/or hear what's going on - you've got much better response and less false alarms.
On the topic of pinpoint, wi-fi alarm systems, I've been looking a lot at Ekahow lately. They have specific units for asset tracking and even LED readouts on the panic alarms so you can broadcast custom instructions to staff.
