Static Security

On programmes like “Crimewatch”, viewers are always advised that the chances of being attacked, burgled or mugged are actually very small.  However, it is often something that we worry about, particularly women, when walking home late at night or travelling home alone in a taxi.

So, does a personal alarm help to make one feel safer and, if the need arises and it has to be used, will it attract help promptly?

A personal alarm should be compact and small enough to fit inside a handbag or a pocket or even hidden in the palm of the hand.  When a personal alarm is activated, the noise should be ear-splitting and loud enough to disorientate and to shock an attacker or mugger.  This should allow time for a potential victim to get away, or to attract help from by-standers or, even better, discourage the attack from continuing.

The alarm should be easy to use and operate without having to grope around to set small, fiddly buttons.  Some alarms emit a loud, piercing noise when a plug or a strap is pulled out.  This kind can be very useful in a handbag snatch, if the victim has the strap around the wrist and the body of the alarm inside the bag.  When the bag is snatched, the strap comes out and a piercing noise is heard, hopefully causing the bag snatcher to drop the bag before running off.