Westbrook police have embraced a new system that uses burglar-alarm technology to help keep victims of abuse safe.
Police are teaming with the electronic security company Protection 1 to offer victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking a way to summon help even if they don’t have access to a telephone.
The system consists of a medallion that communicates with a residential alarm system if a victim can’t reach a telephone to dial 911. When two buttons on the medallion are pressed simultaneously for three seconds, the system triggers an alarm that is received by Protection 1, which notifies Westbrook police and prompts a high-priority response.
“We have a situation now, a domestic-violence victim where the perpetrator is coming out of incarceration very shortly,” said Westbrook Public Safety Director Michael Pardue. “That victim is quite fearful. This system will enable them to request help if need be.”
He said the city may have two to four of the devices in use at one time.
The technology has become available in recent years. It’s similar to a distress alarm that a person might activate if they fall and get injured.
Portland police have had a similar relationship with the alarm company ADT. The department has as many as 30 alarms in use at a time.
The system is one component of a safety plan developed with help from law enforcement and advocates, said Jen LaChance Sibley, outreach coordinator for Family Crisis Services. The agency advocates for victims of abuse in Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties.
One crime that’s often associated with domestic violence is obstructing report of a crime, which usually means a suspect has taken a victim’s phone or ripped the wires out of the wall. A personal alarm like the one Westbrook now has available, which can be kept in a pocket and activated silently, ensures a police response.
“It’s a tool that victims can use,” LaChance Sibley said. “If their abuser shows up at the house or apartment and they can’t find their phone quick enough, this is Plan B. At least there’s a Plan B there.”
Police still prefer that people call 911 in emergencies, because a caller can give a dispatcher important information about the presence of guns and an offender’s location, Pardue said.
LaChance Sibley said she is trying to persuade other police departments to use the new system, which is wireless and can be installed in a home that doesn’t have a telephone line.
For more information about the system in Westbrook, contact Family Crisis Services’ outreach office at 874-8512. For information about resources elsewhere in the state, call the statewide domestic violence help line at (866) 834-4357.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
dhench@pressherald.com
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