Page 27 - Campus Security & Life Safety, November 2017

A popular solution for one-step activation in the event of a major crisis is the use of panic buttons (also called hold-up buttons, duress buttons, or panic alarm buttons). Since cam- puses can face different types of threats, they have to consider the best panic button option to fit their needs. In extreme emergencies such as an active shooter situation, the classic red button is still the go-to option because of the immediate need to call for help while simulta- neously notifying thousands of people at once of the threat.
But schools and organizations often face scenarios where discretion is paramount to keep a potentially dangerous situation under control. In these situations, a covert call for help from pushing a small, discreet panic button, or a few inconspicuous clicks of a mouse could potentially minimize any esca- lation from an agitated or suspicious indi- vidual who isn’t posing an immediate threat. Panic button capabilities can also be includ- ed in smartphone apps to allow personnel to trigger localized alert notifications regard- less of their location.
Panic buttons can be hardwired directly into a system, connected via USB port, and some models have wireless capabilities.
Pressing a panic button will activate noti- fication alerts through other, integrated products—including the Alert Beacon®, Alertus DesktopTM Notification, LED mar- quees, text-to-speech interface for public address and giant outdoor speaker systems, fire alarm interface, VoIP phone alerting, and digital signage and cable television over- ride. Alerts can be customizable depending on a school’s needs and can be configured
using custom event triggers.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
SAN MARCOS
In 2014, California State University San Mar- cos handled a potential active shooter event when they received a call that there was a per- son on campus with a weapon. As campus police started searching for the person, school officials made the decision to put the campus on lockdown.
One push of the discreet panic button located in the campus dispatch center and all of the school’s emergency alert devices acti- vated. The speakers fired off and started relay- ing the alert message, the doors locked down, the desktop notification and phones went off, the digital signage displayed the alert, and the system began sending custom messages out via phone call, text, and email.
“When we installed our new emergency notification system we wanted a system that could be easily deployed in case of emergen- cy,” said Robert Williams, Emergency Man- ager at California State University San Mar- cos. “One of the functions of that was to install an emergency alert button for active shooter situations.”
Throughout the event, multiple alerts were deployed to keep everyone informed of the sit- uation. The initial alert put the campus on lock- down and instructed everyone to shelter in place. Shortly after, the second alert went out to inform everyone that law enforcement was on campus and also provided a description of the subject. A few minutes later another alert went out to keep the lock down in place, and that law enforcement was entering the last known area
where the subject was seen. Within the next 20 minutes, the all-clear notification went out. [The potential gunman was an employee of the university and was carrying a long umbrella that someone mistook for a rifle.]
“It was extremely beneficial to have so many options for getting information out to our campus community,” added Williams. “Depending on where people were during the lockdown, they were able to receive the alerts through digital signage and desktop notifications. Some people could hear the phone notifications, and most were getting the information via their cell phones (call, text and email)."
Using a panic button to activate an inte- grated system greatly improved the school’s response efficiency. With the previous sys- tem they had to go into the alerting software, type up the message and send it, then, sepa- rately go into their text distribution pro- gram, type up the message and send it. With the different steps, it took approximately three-to-four minutes of work just to send the message out versus simply pushing a panic button. In an active shooter situation the difference between people getting noti- fied in a matter of 20 seconds or less versus four minutes is vital when, according to sta- tistics, most active shooter incidents are over in 12 minutes.
REMAINING VIGILANT
With advances in emergency mass notification technology, campus security personnel have the tools to better protect their campuses. But while they must remain vigilant, having an integrated emergency mass notification system with a sin- gle point of activation will
give them an advantage should they face a major emergency event.
Greg Smith is the public relations manager at Alertus Technologies
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