Broadmoor Sirens

The Broadmoor Sirens were installed in 1952 after John Straffen escaped from Broadmoor and murdered a child in Farley Hill, Berkshire. They are similar to air-raid sirens but employ shutters to produce an alternating "high - low" warning tone.[1] More sirens were added in the 1960s[2] after discussions in the House of Commons raised the issue that the sirens' two-mile (3.2 km) radius was insufficient for nearby towns such as Camberley and Wokingham.[3]

The thirteen sirens were created with the intention of warning residents in surrounding towns and villages to remain in their homes and keep their children supervised following the escape of a Broadmoor patient. The sirens are activated as a test at 10am every Monday to ensure they are working. The sirens are susceptible to electrical interference. In 2014, the Bracknell siren was activated accidentally during an electrical storm.[4] The thirteen satellite sirens are due to be decommissioned during 2018, with one siren remaining in the hospital grounds.[5]

The last time the Broadmoor Sirens were activated because of an escape was in 1991, although they were activated in 1993 because of an attack at the hospital.[6] In 2014, there were plans to remove seven of the thirteen sirens. This was because Broadmoor had added a second security fence around the hospital and intended to upgrade the remainder of the sirens so they had a five-mile (8.0 km) radius to improve on the two-mile radius of the 1952 sirens.[7] Local residents objected to this on safety grounds due to there being sixteen primary schools within the radius of the sirens.[1]

It was reported on 2 June 2016 that the hospital plans to have twelve (possibly all thirteen) sirens scrapped by 2018 in favour of escape alerts via the Internet and Twitter.[8] As of 2020, most of the original sirens have been removed from their locations, with the rest remaining idle. In late 2019 a newer siren was installed in an unknown location on the hospital grounds.