When your business is closed, you depend on your burglar alarm system to notify you of any unauthorized attempt to enter your premises. An alarm condition signal immediately captures your attention and that of others on your call list — as well as that of local law enforcement and your monitoring company, which may dispatch a guard to investigate.
Consider these scenarios and what your response would be:
What about when your facility is open to business and your alarm is not “armed”? What if you should have an armed robbery and you need to notify the police? Your automatic reaction may be to push one of your facility’s panic buttons while the robber is on the premises!
3 Essential Precautions to Reduce the Chance of a Robbery
What if you are taken at gunpoint to your business at night, while the facility is closed, and commanded to enter the alarm code to access the premises? Should you enter the anti-ambush or duress code?
Wrong Time to Use a Panic Button
Armed robberies and kidnapping scenarios are highly volatile and dangerous situations. Entering your anti-ambush or duress code or pressing the panic button can create a hostage situation if responding authorities arrive while the perpetrators are still on-site.
How to Stay Safe During a Robbery: The 8 Tips Jewelers Need to Know
The two most important safety tips we can give you and your staff for an armed-robbery situation is this:
- Do not resist
- Cooperate fully
Statistics collected by Jewelers Security Alliance show that, when this is done and the perpetrators are able to leave quickly, the chance of injury is significantly reduced.
Right Time to Use a Panic Button
The right time to press the panic button is after you are sure all perpetrators have left your premises and the doors are locked. Only then should you begin your signals for help.
