Security systems have become commonplace in commercial facilities. Some businesses take may take a less-extreme approach by hanging mirrors high on the wall to intimidate thieves, while others have cameras watching shoppers every move. “Smile, you’re on camera” has become so engrained in everyday life, that shoppers rarely acknowledge the sign when they walk past it.
While these systems can aid in preventing crimes or help solve them at a later date, they cannot alert authorities when an active situation is occurring. In September, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law requiring retailers to install panic buttons in all New York State retail locations. Under the law, companies with 50 or more retail employees must install the technology, which is defined as a “physical button that when pressed immediately dispatches local law enforcement to the workplace.”
The law will go into effect after 180 days. Along with the installation of the buttons, retailers with 10 or more employees are required to adopt a violence prevention plan and maintain records of violent incidents for at least three years, Reuters reports. Retailers with 500 or more employees are required to install panic buttons in easily accessible locations or provide wearable panic buttons or mobile-phone based alarm devices as well. If a retailer uses a mobile-phone alarm system, it is required that it be installed on an employer-provided device. Meanwhile, the law also states that panic buttons may not be used to track employee locations unless the button is pressed.
According to Reuters, this is the first law of its kind in the United States. Retail groups reported pushed for the law after a series of high-profile shootings have occurred in stores. California previously added similar workplace protections, but that did not include panic buttons.
Some retailers, however, have opposed the law, citing concerns of false alarms and associated costs of installation. Several retail organizations joined together to send a letter to the governor, calling for a “genuine, holistic approach to store and community safety” instead of panic buttons.
Panic buttons are not new technology. School districts and healthcare facilities have longed used the security system to alert emergency officials of threats within the facility. According to Retail Dive, newly installed panic buttons limited the number of deaths that occurred at a school shooting in Georgia in September.
Mackenna Moralez is the associate editor of the facilities market.
