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Gipuzkoa Rejects Panic Buttons as Bizkaia and Álava Deploy Alarms in Minors’ Homes

The decision leaves a patchwork of protections in Basque minors’ homes following July’s stabbing of a Bilbao educator.

Overview

  • Bizkaia has installed panic-button alarms in ten provincial homes for minors, with systems operational since September.
  • The alarms allow staff to connect directly to the 112 emergency network or alert colleagues when they fear an attack.
  • Álava uses panic buttons selectively in smaller centres with limited staffing and in a new specialised adolescent facility that also has cameras in certain areas.
  • Gipuzkoa’s provincial government has publicly ruled out installing panic buttons in its supervised flats.
  • The July assault left a social educator in Bilbao requiring plastic surgery with 16 stitches, and the 16-year-old suspect was detained and ordered to the juvenile internment centre in Zumarraga.