Let's talk about...personal alarms

Personal alarms are the unsung heroes of personal protection.  While stun guns and pepper spray get all the attention, good and bad, from the press; it's the lowly personal alarm that could be the most effective tool in your arsenal.  Personal alarms come in many types and can be used for many purposes.  We'll explore these in some detail in this page. 

Basically a personal alarm is an alarm, much like you'd find in your car, that has a 130db alarm and a panic button.  Unlike the alarm on your keychain fob, it works wherever you go, not just near your car.  Some models come with lights, while others might have an itegrated strap installed so that when someone pulls your alarm away from you, it sounds.

Lots. Pretty much anything can have an alarm built into it. Some alarms are stand-alone, meant to startle someone or let rescuers know where you are. Some have lights integrated into them so you have a handy flashlight for use in dark places like parking garages. Others are integrated into other devices. A stun baton, for example might have a light, stun gun and personal alarm built into it, giving you three ways to protect yourself. A flashlight could have a personal alarm built in, if it's as large as a Mag-lite then you also have a handy baton.

As for the best personal alarm, that depends on your situation.  If you need just an alarm in case you need to signal someone in case of an earthquake or you're lost for example, an electric whistle might be all you need.  If you want protection against muggers or kidnappers, an alarm with a pull away strap might be useful.  If you want an integrated device to defend yourself, you may consider a stun baton which includes a stun device, light and alarm.

This is probably one of the more overlooked areas of self defense.  A criminal needs three things in order to succeed in crime.  They need to be able to approach a person without that person getting suspicous, they need to control the noise level while the crime is in progress and they need to be able to melt into the shadows when the crime is over.

Personal alarms short-circuit this process.  If you set an alarm off before a criminal gets to you, you've just ruined their chance to not only approach you while you're unaware of them, but they can no longer control the noise nor will they be able to melt away when they're done.  If they do happen to grab you and you have a device with a pull away strap that sets off the alarm, that will symie their ability to control the noise level and they won't be unnoticed when they try to leave the scene of the crime.

Not exactly. A personal alarm is just one tool in a toolbox of personal security devices. It's a powerful tool to be sure, but it really shines when added to other tools like stun guns and pepper sprays. For more information, check out the other pages in the Self Defense Products group.  Just as important, maybe the most important factor is awareness of your surroindings.  May people who have ben assaluted say that their assailant came "out of nowhere".  In reality it's very rare for someone to be taken completely by surprise.  Usually what happens is that victims ignore some of what their senses are telling him.