The Security Dialogue: Honeywell Gets How Duress Switches Should Be Designed

Duress alarms are nothing new. I recall during the early years of my career setting off a few by accident. If I do remember anything else, it would be where they were installed. The vast majority of accidental annunciations were caused by poor placement. Many were located near an area where you sat like a desk but that sat knee-high on the average person. Or they were placed were everyday objects were nearby and prone to collision.

So you can imagine how delighted I was when I caught this little gem while perusing another blogger, Colin Bodbyl's site - Zeecure. In this video he's reviewing the Honeywell 264 Money Clip. This is a duress/hold-up alarm designed for cash-only businesses and activates a silent alarm to a central station or the police when the cash is removed from the clip. Of course, this would need to be installed with an existing alarm system. But this, as Colin aptly pointed out, you no longer need to have a very conspicuous duress button to be located discretely. Now, the robber gets the "bait-money" and the alarm is set with very little to be done. Imagine having help dispatched at the onset of the robbery instead of wasting precious seconds or minutes trying to call or push a duress button while completing the transaction.

An additional problem faced by many security practitioners, with regards to duress alarms, is appearance. Many duress alarms look like switches with no correlation to where they're placed. For example, why place a duress switch near a counter-space with no electro-mechanical devices near it? Why not place it where operator and suspect will have their interaction and it not be seen or look to obvious? I think designers should remember one key thing about duress switches - ALL BAD GUYS WATCH HEIST MOVIES. This means they're expecting the duress switch. Why put employees in danger by having a small metal switch near them? Why not have something like the Money Clip installed where the interaction is and triggered by the interaction and not the employee? The awesome thing about the Honeywell 264 Money Clip is it looks like a standard clip found in any cash register or cash drawer. It should be noted Honeywell offers three other types of duress/hold-up alarms to include the 256 Foot Rail, 268 Hold-up Switch, and the 270R Hardwired Hold-up Switch in a plastic case. A prudent customer would require redundant systems (any of the devices listed previously strategically placed inconspicuously) and (if it's not already included) a duress code (numerical code known to select insiders) added into any alarm control panel as well. I would prefer one that caused the alarm panel to function normally but send the duress signal to a central station or police dispatcher. Many systems are designed like this. However, there are some that are not. Colin also has some unique uses for it as well. Check his review out below.