Panic alarms for shops, surgeries and lone workers: which Ajax button to choose

For a shop counter, a surgery reception or someone working alone on site, Ajax offers four kinds of panic device: the one-button Button, the two-button DoubleButton, the panic key on SpaceControl fobs and Ajax keypads, and MultiTransmitter for wired buttons you already have. If the alarm has to bring the police, choose DoubleButton. Police rules for hold-up alarms do not accept single-press devices or panic keys that share a fob with other jobs.

Is a panic alarm the same as a hold-up alarm?

Not quite. "Panic alarm" is the everyday name for any alert raised by hand. In police policy, the device that calls officers is a hold-up alarm (HUA). The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) requirements, updated in June 2026 and adopted by forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, say an HUA is for urgent police help when someone is threatened or fears immediate violence.

It names deliberate presses that do not justify a police call: a forecourt drive-off, shop theft with no threat of violence, a fight in progress and a suspicious noise outside. For those, a button that alerts staff or a keyholder is the right tool. If your site is in Scotland, check the police alarm policy there with your installer.

Should the alarm be silent or sound the sirens?

Depending on the device, an Ajax panic alarm can work in three ways:

• Silent alarm to a monitoring centre. No siren, so the person making the threat is not alerted.
• Sirens on. To scare someone off or warn people nearby.
• Custom alarm. Only people in the Ajax app are told; nothing goes to the monitoring centre.

A till at risk of robbery suits a silent alarm; a reception desk suits an app alert. Ajax says the sirens on site do not sound for its confirmed hold-up event (see below).

Which Ajax devices can raise a panic alarm?

Prices include VAT. Delivery is extra and prices can change.

The Ajax Button panic button and DoubleButton hold-up button share a 47 x 35 mm IP55 case, a CR2032 cell rated at up to five years and up to 1,300 m of radio range in open space. Both clip into the Holder mount (£6.20) in our Ajax accessories and brackets. Both need an Ajax Jeweller hub such as Hub 2 (2G) (£161.53).

Which options meet police rules for hold-up alarms?

NPCC Appendix T, the ten-point plan for hold-up alarms (February 2026), sets the hardware rules:

• No single-push devices. That rules out Button for police response, even though Ajax lists PD 6662:2017 against it.
• Portable devices do one job, with two separate buttons pressed together. DoubleButton fits. The panic key on a SpaceControl key fob does not, because the fob also sets and unsets the alarm.
• Keypad hold-up keys should be separate from the main keys, two buttons pressed together, and switched on only by the engineer. The single Function button on KeyPad Plus does not meet that, even with double press.
• Duress codes are kept for high-security systems, engineer-programmed and off by default.
• No time-delay devices, and users must be trained, with the training recorded.

An HUA with a police unique reference number (URN) loses its response after two false calls in a rolling 12 months, no sooner than 14 days after the withdrawal letter. Getting it back needs a confirmation method; in commercial premises a phone call-back alone is not accepted.

Ajax's PD 6662 settings (Ajax PRO apps, hub OS Malevich 2.10 or later) send a confirmed hold-up when one DoubleButton gets a short and a long press, or when two chosen DoubleButtons are pressed within a set timer. On a Grade 3 system, use the Superior DoubleButton G3. Only companies on the force's compliant list may install, maintain or monitor a police-response system, and the HUA registration fee is £70.68 inc VAT from 1 April 2026.

Where should buttons go in a shop, surgery or office?

The Home Office's retail crime factsheet (updated 30 September 2026), using ONS figures, puts retail crime recorded by police in England and Wales at 535,724 offences in the year to December 2025. It also quotes the British Retail Consortium's estimate of about 1,600 incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff a day, and the Crime and Policing Act 2026 creates an offence of assaulting a retail worker in England and Wales, once in force.

• Tills and counters: a DoubleButton in a Holder under the counter, within reach and out of customers' view. Two at one counter can be paired to confirm a hold-up.
• Surgery or clinic reception: KeyPad TouchScreen puts panic, fire and auxiliary help on screen beside setting and unsetting.
• Consulting rooms and offices: a Button under the desk, sending a custom or auxiliary alarm to colleagues' phones.
• Existing wired buttons: the MultiTransmitter module takes up to 18 wired zones on cable runs of up to 400 m.

Name each button by location in the app so alerts show where they came from.

Can Ajax buttons protect lone workers?

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance says employers must manage the risks before anyone works alone, citing health workers, cleaners, security staff and warehouse workers, and must keep in touch with them, which can include alarm devices tested regularly.

Ajax buttons suit lone working on one site, such as a cleaner after hours. They work only within radio range of the hub or a range extender, and walls cut range, so test each button where it will be used.

Away from the site, the Ajax app's panic button sends the phone's location to users and the monitoring centre. Hub 2 (2G) and Hub 2 Plus (£268.10) both pass panic button coordinates to monitoring. For police response to travelling staff, NPCC Appendix V requires lone worker devices that meet BS 8484, through a certified monitoring centre holding a URN for them.

Our take

Decide first who answers the button. If it is the police, buy DoubleButton (or Superior DoubleButton G3 on a Grade 3 system) and have a police-listed alarm company fit, monitor and register it. If it is colleagues or a keyholder, Button, SpaceControl and the keypad panic keys also suit. See the full Ajax wireless alarm range, or compare brands in our keypads and arming stations.

We are a supplier, not an installer, trading since 2012 from our Wolverhampton trade counter. We can recommend a qualified installer depending on the job and area.

Not sure which button suits your site? Call 01902 902251 or send us a message. We ship nationally to England, Scotland and Wales.

Quick questions

Can I fit a DoubleButton myself?
Yes, for alerts through the Ajax app. Police response needs a police-listed company to fit, monitor and register the system.

Will a Button go off in my pocket?
Set it to long press or double press in the app. Ajax offers that setting to cut accidental alarms.

How long do the batteries last?
Ajax rates Button, DoubleButton and SpaceControl at up to five years on one CR2032 cell.

Should staff press the hold-up button for a shoplifter?
Not unless there is a threat of violence. The NPCC lists theft without one as a non-essential use, and false calls can cost you police response.

Source: Ajax Systems blog, Everything you need to know about panic buttons, Ajax product specifications, the KeyPad Plus and KeyPad TouchScreen manuals and the Ajax PD 6662 set-up guide. UK sources: NPCC Police Requirements for Security Systems 2026, Appendices T and V; HSE, Lone working: protect those working alone; GOV.UK, Crime and Policing Act 2026 retail crime factsheet; Crime and Policing Act 2026, section 45.