As female executive protection agents, we have the opportunity to provide advice for our clients on the best personal security measures. One of the questions we have received is on the topic of personal alarms. Our clients want to know if alarms are worth purchasing and using as a self-defense tool. Questions like these are so important. We are happy to answer them. Let's begin!

This article will address the effectiveness of personal safety alarms specifically for women in the United States. While personal alarms can have their merits, we stress that their effectiveness relies heavily on these three perfect conditions:
 
1. The presence of people around
2. Their willingness to help
3. Their prompt response

 Without all of these three conditions being met, the alarm is pretty much useless. 

Most of us live in areas where there are at least a few people around, so this variable is the easiest to control. The second variable is that these same people around will be willing to help if they hear that alarm. Numerous studies have demonstrated that individuals, when faced with situations like these, often exhibit reluctance to assist, displaying tendencies of avoidance, uncertainty, lack of knowledge, fear, or being too pressed for time to provide aid to someone else. Especially, if that someone is a stranger. 

That being said, there are many people who would always go out of their way to help out a person being attacked. The decision to rely on personal safety alarms rests on the individual's choice to place trust in the people around them, hoping for assistance in times of danger. From FEPG's perspective, we believe that depending solely on the response of others can introduce a level of risk that may not be optimal for personal security

The third condition is these strangers' or other people's prompt response. A person is going to have to swiftly step in to protect another when they hear the alarm go off. There are going to be instances where the people who do help unfortunately react too slowly for various reasons. Perhaps, they don't register the alarm as a call for help, are too far away, or they don't know how to help. This means the alarm is useless. The attacker could have already inflicted his/her damage and fled without a trace. 

So, as you can see, our stance on the personal safety alarm is to not rely on it to protect you from harm. Do we 100% think it is useless? No, but the three conditions must be met. Ideally, if all the stars were to align, then the alarm could be a pretty effective tool to deter someone from harming you...  but this is highly unlikely. There are many other tools women should look into before buying an alarm for protection. 

We strongly advocate combining personal safety alarms with other self-defense products like concealed firearms, pepper spray, or pocket knives to ensure a well-rounded approach to personal security. The woman doesn't need to carry all of these at the same time, but she should know and be fully aware of which tools would best protect her in each situation she is in. 

Concealed firearms, when legally and responsibly carried, can provide an added layer of protection, allowing a woman to defend herself in life-threatening situations. Pepper spray offers immediate incapacitation at a distance, while a self-defense knife can serve as a close-quarters defense option. Integrating these tools into your personal security strategy ensures you have multiple options at your disposal, increasing the chances of successfully warding off an attacker.

Let's talk more about these alarms:

The Limits of Personal Safety Alarms: It is crucial to acknowledge the limitations of personal safety alarms. We believe they may offer a FALSE sense of security because their effectiveness depends on those three external factors above. Other factors that can limit the effectiveness is if the battery is charged and if the user can get it to function while under duress. 
 

Training and Legal Considerations: Luckily, personal alarms do not take much training. The user only needs to familiarize herself on how it functions. Most alarms are activated by the user pulling a pin out, pushing a button, or flipping a switch. Legally speaking, and as of July 20th, 2023, personal security alarm devices are allowed in every state. We advise everyone double check the regulations governing their state and city in regards to self-defense weapons.

We have one alarm that we would like to promote on this site. 
You can easily get it on Amazon, but that's not the reason for choosing this one. It is from the company Vantamo. What we like about it is that it has a double speaker, a battery life indicator, and a strobe light. It comes in a variety of colors and it isn't very expensive. 

Here it is: