Education, fast response can prevent kidnappings
July 1, 2000 2 minutes read
Education, fast response can prevent kidnappings
Preventing and responding to baby abductions in the hospital take a great deal of planning, says Edward Flores, senior director of security at the New York University Medical Center and president of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety in Lombard, IL.
Flores offers these tips:
1. Rely on staff and family education as the key components of the plan. All staff, especially nursery staff, should be educated about the danger of baby kidnapping and the ways in which the crimes usually occur. Also, be sure to educate the baby’s family members about the risk and how important it is never to allow an unidentified person to take the baby.
"It’s very important for parents to know that the baby is never given to someone you don’t know, even if they are in medical garb," he says. "If that person doesn’t have an identification card, the parent should immediately call the nursing station or security and not give up the baby."
Both family and staff should be warned to never leave the baby alone, for any reason, no matter how briefly.
2.Choose the electronic components carefully. The electronic safety devices should be difficult to defeat. They should sound an alarm if they are tampered with, and they should make it difficult for the baby to be taken off the premises. In addition to locking exit doors, they should shut down elevators and set off a general alarm.
3.The alarm system should be baby-specific. When the transmitter on a baby’s bracelet or clothing sets off the alarm, the computer system should register which baby set off the alarm. That way, staff can see whether the baby is where it should be, confirming quickly whether there is an actual kidnapping or just a false alarm. If the transmitter only sets off a nonspecific alarm, the staff will have to do a complete head count, and they may lose valuable time.
4.Make sure the alarm sounds in the nursery and the security department simultaneously. There is no time to waste when a baby is kidnapped, so security should receive the alarm automatically, without waiting on a call from the nursery. Security officers must respond immediately to seal off exits and look for the baby.
5.Call local authorities right away. It is important to call the local police department as soon as the alarm sounds. Don’t wait until you’ve searched the hospital on your own and can’t find the baby. The police have to be called immediately so the baby might be recovered without delay.
"If you haven’t found the baby in five minutes, it is either completely out of the building or hidden," Flores says. "It’s better to be safe than sorry, so call the police. It’s OK to say that while they were on the way, you found the baby.
"The fire department comes when an alarm sounds, even if it turns out to be a false alarm. Calling the police for a potential kidnapping shouldn’t be any different."
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