ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 26, 1997 TAG: 9703260058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
To qualify, a woman must be in immediate danger, have a restraining order against the abuser, and be willing to prosecute him.
City police plan to give battered women personal alarms they can use to alert authorities if their attacker comes to their home.
Police said Tuesday that they plan to give the pendants with alarm transmitters to women who have a history of being stalked or assaulted.
To qualify for the alarm system, a woman must be in immediate danger, have a restraining order against the abuser, and be willing to prosecute the abuser.
If they are in danger, users can press either a button on the pendant or the emergency button on a home-based security system. The signal is sent to a security company, which can then alert police.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has warned that battered women should be told that the device works only at home, not in public places or at work, where victims are increasingly attacked.
The personal alarm systems are in use in Roanoke, Lynchburg and Virginia Beach, and Chesterfield, Henrico, Prince William, Fairfax and Arlington counties, said Cathy Meyer, a spokeswoman for ADT Security Services, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based company that has donated the systems to more than 100 cities nationwide.
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB