Women get panic alarms

Tamlyn Stewart | 12th March 2010

Four panic alarms are to be placed in Rotorua homes this week, bringing to six the number of devices used in homes where there is a high risk of family violence.

Rotorua police said they are using the panic buttons more as victims of family violence became more aware of them.

Rotorua police Senior Constable Anna Anderson said the alarms were extremely effective and were generally put in homes where a couple had recently separated, or the victim had just been offended against.

They are also used when there is a high risk a woman and her children might be attacked in their home. Each case was assessed individually, she said.

Police considered risk factors like how many times the man had offended and whether the victim felt threatened or intimidated.

Mrs Anderson said the panic buttons gave victims a feeling of safety because activating the alarm was much quicker than calling 111 - although 111 still worked.

The alarms are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week and police responded immediately.

"The key is, it gives them a sense of security in their own homes," she said.

Victims were also given pendants to wear which were tuned into the base unit of the panic button, so they didn't have to be able to reach the base unit to activate the alarm.

Waiariki Women's Refuge chairwoman, Beverley, who doesn't want her surname published for security reasons, said the period after a couple separated was a high-risk time for victims of family violence.

"Separation is one of the most dangerous times for women, that's why they need panic buttons and cellphones."

"It is incredibly important that some women have panic buttons especially when there have been threats of killing or attempts, like choking.

"When domestic violence has been a factor in the separation, that man is losing the power, the control, and he doesn't really like that happening."

The Rotorua police work with 12 partner agencies - the Family Violence Inter-Agency Response System to reduce family violence.

Requests for the alarms were also now coming from those agencies working with the victims.

"I would think that's another tool agencies are much more aware of," Mrs Anderson said.

The buttons have been in use in Rotorua for more than four years, but they are being used more often as social support agencies have become more aware of them and increasingly facilitate victims receiving the panic alarms.

"The key is it gives them a sense of security in their own homes," she said.

"It's a small part of what we do but it's really crucial," she said.