 |
| Acquiring emergency phones is an effective way to improve security and safety |
Call boxes / emergency phones play a very important role in improving security. Not only are they important communication tools in the event of an emergency, but they can also serve as effective deterrents to crime or prevent security threats. In this article, Sam Shanes, Chairman at Talk-A-Phone, gives five valuable tips to significantly enhance the capabilities of the call box / emergency phone system.
Emergency communications play an important role in today’s busy and uncertain urban environments. Acquiring Call Boxes / Emergency Phones is an effective way to improve security and safety. The following five tips outline how to best utilize an emergency phone / call box as a security solution.
Tip 1: Let It Be Heard - Enable Long-Range Mass Notification With Broadcast Speakers
Emergency communications play an important role in today’s busy and uncertain urban environments |
Despite general belief, Emergency Phones are not only used to connect to a security officer when an emergency situation arises. Many Emergency Phones can easily be upgraded with high-power broadcasting speakers, ensuring that security personnel can issue long-range mass notification broadcasts during an emergency.
Tip 2: Let It Be Seen - Use LED Blue Lights for Visual Alerts
Emergency Phones can also include LED blue lights. Utilizing both visual and audible signals can greatly enhance the chances of message delivery, especially to hearing impaired individuals. Additionally, the visual effect of the LED blue light alerts everyone in the area to a potential danger or emergency and that a phone has been activated.
Tip 3: Create A Perimeter – Use Phone Towers to Create a Heightened Level of Surveillance
Emergency Phone Towers can also be used as a deterrent to crime as the size of the towers, in conjunction with the LED blue lights, create good visibility and towers placed in close proximity to each other can be used to form a perimeter. This indicates that security personnel are watching, patrolling, and ready to assist. As a result, those within this border are aware of the heightened level of surveillance.
 |
| Emergency phones can also include LED blue lights |
Tip 4: Add A Set Of Eyes – Embed Security Cameras Into the Call Box / Emergency Phone Unit
A simple upgrade can turn an Emergency Phone into an all-seeing verification and assessment device. By adding an embedded security camera into an Emergency Phone unit, one can quickly verify the location of the call and assess the urgency of the situation. A PTZ camera can be placed on top of the tower to give security personnel situational awareness of the scene over greater areas. Such surveillance cameras can also assist security personnel in tracking suspicious and malicious activity before an incident has occurred. Additionally, the surveillance cameras can be used for “virtual patrols”, in which an individual can request protection via dispatch center monitoring. This creates more time for officers to deal with other threats.
Tip 5: Layers, Layers, Layers – Provide Layered Approach to Mass Notification
Emergency Phones can provide a layered approach to Mass Notification, playing an important role in notifying everyone in and around a location. Integrating the existing equipment with broadcasting units or surveillance cameras can significantly improve the chances of reaching the intended audience, while keeping a close eye on the situation at hand.
