When we work with commercial customers to create security plans, we must address any and all threats to a commercial property. Businesses lie dormant for long periods of time, so keeping them secure against thieves obviously remains a priority. However, the possibility of a burglar entering your empty business does not represent the most pressing threat faced by business owners. After all, employees in any business also face the possibility of a break-in occurring while still inside the building. Of course, we wish to address this frightening scenario when we install security equipment as well. Panic devices represent one of the main defenses that we have against burglars who break into occupied businesses. In this post, we share some valuable panic button options for your business.
To start off, we’ll detail the security offered by several types of panic buttons that we can install as part of an alarm system. These options represent the most common types of panic devices. Therefore, this section will provide a good “base” for understanding the rest of the material presented in this post. From there, we’ll look at a couple non alarm-related types of panic buttons we can install. Specifically, we’ll explain the function of GPS and lockdown-based panic devices. Now, let’s dive in with an introduction to security-system based panic buttons!
An Introduction to Security-System Based Panic Buttons
We install commercial security systems with a few goals in mind. First and foremost, business owners install these systems to help secure their property against a break-in. After all, we nickname these systems “burglar alarms” for good reason. Upon activation, these systems provide a blaring siren response to alert workers to the emergency. Hopefully, this also scares the perpetrators off the property. Additionally, these systems also create a response from our central station operators, which in turn can lead to a police dispatch in necessary.
In addition to these features, we also want to create ways for anyone on your property to create a quick response to any emergency that happens even while your security system is disarmed. We create this security several different ways that we will detail in this section. Let’s get started with a look at the various panic buttons installed on your alarm’s keypad.
The panic buttons on the IQ Panel by QOLSYS provide several different options to ensure you get the exact emergency response that you need.
Panel-Based Panic Buttons
A security system’s keypad generally has multiple panic buttons built in. The security panels we use, such as the QOLSYS IQ Panel 4, have police, fire, and auxiliary panic buttons that allow one-touch emergency responses to multiple emergency scenarios. We usually program the “auxiliary” button to create a 911 response for a possible medical emergency. These functions allow for a quick and specific response to emergency situations, and users can activate them even when the security system is disarmed. Because we generally install keypads near a business’s busiest doors, these buttons allow employees to quickly call for help through their security system while fleeing the building if necessary.
Our security panel also has another built-in panic feature. Occasionally, break-ins occur in businesses while someone is still in the building while the system is armed. In these cases, burglars generally tell whoever is inside to disable the security system to cancel the police response. We offer a “duress code” that simulates disarming the alarm system. However, even though the siren stops blaring, the system sends a silent alert to the central station. This unique panic feature creates a quick response from the police department because it is a potential hostage situation. Between the panic buttons and the duress code, your security system keypad provides several unique panic button options for your business.
Remote Panic Buttons
Alarm.com users can activate a number of both audible and silent panic alarm responses from their cell phones.
Wireless security systems generally allow you to use a remote to control your security system from your property’s exterior. Generally, these devices work within about 100 feet of your building. These remotes allow you to both arm and disarm your security system without walking to a keypad. Additionally, they also include a button that you can use to remotely activate your alarm’s police panic feature while within range of your alarm. This means that you can carry a panic device with you at all times. Just as with the duress code we mentioned in the last section, our central station takes the activation of these devices as indication of a high-alert security event. In turn, this generally leads to a faster police dispatch than a “generic” alarm activation due to the potential nature of the situation.
Phone-Based Panic Response
An interactive cellular dialer, such as ours powered by Alarm.com, allows you to use your smart phone as a panic device. Just as with a remote panic device, this option allows you to have a panic button with you at all times. However, a remote requires you to be close to your security system to activate the alarm with it. A phone does not have this limitation. Also, unlike a simple alarm remote, your Alarm.com phone app provides police, fire, and auxiliary-specific panic devices at your fingertips. You can also choose between an audible alarm and a silent alarm when you activate any one of these buttons. With this option, as long as you carry your smartphone, you’re never more than a few seconds away from calling for immediate help.
Discreet Panic Buttons
In a hold-up situation, getting to a keypad or pulling our your phone will not be practical. With this in mind, we often install panic buttons underneath counters or in other discreet locations. This allows an employee to activate the device without drawing attention. In most cases, our customers also wish for this type of panic button to not activate a siren. When violence is a possibility, remaining calm can help keep a situation under control, and the presence of a siren will not help in this regard. Upon seeing a silent panic alarm, the central station will dispatch the police without calling the premises first. This allows for a no-conflict activation of the alarm during the most dangerous of circumstances. Now that we’ve detailed several alarm-based panic button options for your business, let’s look at a couple panic buttons that do not tie in to your business’s alarm.
Panic buttons such as this model made by United Security Products can call for help through your alarm system silently when needed.
Panic Buttons for Internal Communication or Lockdown
In some settings, customers wish for the activation of a panic button to alert others on premise. In hospitals, for example, patients can use a panic button to send for immediate medical assistance. The same system can also incorporate panic buttons for employees to use to send for help. These panic buttons generally also include a tracking device to provide the location of the user. Unlike the previous options in this post, these systems do not tie into an existing security system. Instead, they have their own infrastructure that communicates with a central station. Knowing whether or not a nurse or patient needs help in a hospital, and where help is needed, is crucial in these cases.
Certain situations call for an even more drastic response than an alert sent to the front desk. In addition to sending an alert, some panic buttons can also create a lockdown situation. Schools often request these types of devices. The communication for lockdown panic buttons often relies on the internet rather than a security system or hardwired infrastructure, and the buttons themselves can be installed on a wall, desk, or even carried with teachers and staff. When activated, a lockdown panic button notifies the police, shuts down access to the building from the outside, notifies staff of any open doors, and also activates a warning played over a PA/radio system. Staff can customize what they want the actual warning to say. In addition, this action can send an automatically generated mass email. Colleges and universities, in particular, generally elect to take advantage of this option.
Putting our Panic Button Options for Your Business to Work for You
We hope that this post helps you choose the panic button options for your business that best fit your security needs! Moreover, we also encourage you to contact us with any questions this post may raise for you. We will happily answer any and all of your security-related inquiries. Furthermore, we also invite you to take advantage of our free site survey program. We offer complimentary security audits and equipment quotes to both new and existing customers alike. While on site, we can address any existing security concerns you may have. Additionally, we can make suggestions based on our own observations of your property as well. Together, we can create a full security plan, complete with panic buttons, to keep your property — and everyone on it — as safe and secure as possible.