What Is A Duress Code?
Let’s imagine a scenario where you are working as a high-risk lone working employee and require immediate assistance from the Police.
Scenario: You are a housing support officer who often visits the houses of your tenants alone as part of your job. You carry a Peoplesafe lone worker device for your personal safety.
On one occasion the tenant gets very aggressive and starts to verbally/physically abuse. Along with the aggressive or threatening behaviour, the tenant has now held you captive against your will. In the above mentioned scenario, you’re working alone without much direct supervision.
You discreetly raise an alarm with a simple press on the MySOS safety device and subtly use a pre-set Duress code in your conversation. The police arrive at the scene and control the situation, whilst also ensuring you’re safe. So what is a Duress code and how was it effectively used in this scenario to protect your safety when working alone?
A Duress code is any memorised code word or phrase dropped into a message or conversation by an individual, who is being coerced by one or more hostile persons. The main purpose of a duress code is to warn others that you are being forced to do something against your will.
When setting up a lone worker solution with Peoplesafe, all our customers are required to register their information on Nexus, with escalation procedures to follow in the event of an emergency.
So when an alarm is raised via a lone worker alarm app or device you will be connected directly with a Controller in our 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre. Our Controllers will have access to the customer’s information including what to do in the event of an emergency. Duress codes can also be set up at this point and this could be anything from specific words to key phrases like “It’s in the purple folder”, where the term ‘Purple Folder’ can be set up as the Duress code. Our Controllers are fully trained to deal with a wide range of situations and they also understand that there are times you won’t be able to confirm whether you’re safe or not.
In the scenario mentioned above, you as a lone worker need to ensure that the perpetrator is not being aggravated, as this could potentially result in further injury to you. An alarm can be easily raised with a simple press of the SOS button on any of our solutions. Our Controllers will silently listen in via the 2 way audio to gauge the situation you’re in. At this point you can secretly mention your duress code to alert the Controller that you’re in danger. Now let’s take a look at how a Duress code can protect you based on the above-mentioned scenario.
Scenario: As a lone working housing support officer, you have experienced violent behaviour from tenants in the past. Within your escalation procedure, you have set up a Duress phrase of “I’m thirsty”. After raising an alarm, you casually drop the phrase in the conversation by saying “Can I get a drink please, I’m thirsty”.
Upon hearing this phrase our Controllers will know straight away that you’re in danger and summon the Police to your exact location by utilising the GPS capability within the device. Our Controllers would also silently listen in until the situation is controlled by the police. This gives you peace of mind and reassurance that emergency services are on their way.
By setting up a simple but effective Duress code can help to speed up the process of alerting our Controller the situation you’re in, thus helping to get immediate assistance to you.
See how the Peoplesafe ARC works:
Key takeaways
- A duress code is a pre-agreed word or phrase that can be used discreetly to indicate that someone is in danger or being coerced.
- Duress codes can help lone workers communicate that they need assistance without alerting the person threatening them.
- Peoplesafe customers can include a duress code within their emergency escalation procedures.
- When an SOS alarm is raised, a Peoplesafe Alarm Receiving Centre Controller can listen to the situation and recognise the agreed duress code.
- Using a duress code can help the Controller identify the seriousness of the situation quickly and arrange the appropriate emergency response.
Duress Code FAQs
What is a duress code?
A duress code is a memorised word or phrase that someone can use discreetly to indicate that they are in danger or being forced to do something against their will. It allows the person to communicate that they need help without making this obvious to someone nearby.
How does a duress code work?
A duress code is agreed in advance and incorporated into an organisation’s emergency escalation procedures. If a worker raises an alarm and uses the agreed word or phrase during the conversation, the Alarm Receiving Centre Controller can recognise it as an indication that the worker is in danger.
When should a duress code be used?
A duress code can be useful when a worker is being threatened, coerced or prevented from openly asking for help. It provides a discreet way to communicate that the situation is unsafe without potentially escalating the behaviour of the person causing the threat.
How is a duress code set up with Peoplesafe?
Peoplesafe customers can set up a duress code as part of their emergency escalation procedures when their lone worker service is configured. The code can be a specific word or an easy-to-remember phrase that the worker can naturally include in a conversation.
What happens when a lone worker uses their duress code?
If a worker has raised an SOS alarm and then uses their agreed duress code, the Alarm Receiving Centre Controller can recognise that they are in danger. The Controller can assess the situation, use available location information and arrange the appropriate emergency response.
What makes a good duress code?
A duress code should be easy for the worker to remember and simple to use naturally during a conversation. The article gives examples of ordinary phrases that would not immediately reveal to another person that the worker is signalling for help.
