ADT, the provider of home security systems, has made available a panic button for “threatened†persons. Law enforcement agencies in Haywood County will be the first in Western North Carolina to adopt the system. The AWARE program would allow qualified people to put a button on the wall or around their neck that would silently alert police of a threat. The program is directed toward abused women. To take advantage of the service, participants must be deemed to be in danger, and willing to take out a restraining order against their abuser and follow through with prosecution should he be arrested.
The prospects for psychological warfare are impressive. Battered women will feel safer, and their abusers will think twice if they know their women won’t be sweet-talked out of their commitment to prosecute.
