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# Baby abduction warded off at Saint John’s
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/baby-abduction-warded-off-at-saint-johns/
- Published: 2004-08-10T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:48:19.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Health, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

No one wants to think about infant abduction, known as “code pink,” but the possibility is a frightening and tragic fact of life for many parents.

In the new Inpatient Pavilion at Saint John’s, precautions have been taken to prevent an abduction from happening and to terminate such an attempt.

“Saint John’s has always had specific policies in place to minimize the risk of an abduction,” said Glenn Thompson, director of security. “We educate parents, medical staff and security staff about safety. Security staff is trained in profiling possible abductors to eliminate risk as early as possible. Regular drills keep team members ready for any event.”

In the new Inpatient Pavilion, which will open this fall, the Women’s Health Center has a multi-tiered security system that offers redundancies to ensure a code pink can be short-circuited immediately.

“This is a state-of-the-art system,” Thompson said. “We have excellent control of the area.”

To ensure maximum security, each newborn at Saint John’s is issued an electronic monitoring device. If a baby and the monitoring device leave the Women’s Health Center, or if the device is tampered with, security team members and maternity nurses are immediately and simultaneously alerted via monitoring stations throughout the hospital and an alarm sounds at the point of exit, hospital officials said. In addition, the monitoring device itself emits an audible alarm if tampered with. Corresponding, non-monitored identification devices are issued to mothers. Monitoring devices are deactivated and removed when the infant is released from the hospital.

When an alarm is activated, it is possible to close off specific areas of the Women’s Health Center as needed. It also is possible to lock down the entire fourth floor by sealing stair-wells and disabling elevators.

Video cameras are located at key entry and exit points throughout the floor. Footage of visitor traffic is retained for a period of time.

“In the event something did happen, we can go back for a length of time and see who was in the area,” Thompson said.

Alarms, video cameras and monitoring systems are checked on a regular basis, and security staff participates in quarterly emergency drills.

“You hear about babies being taken on television programs, but you never think of it as a reality,” said Phillipa Shields, a new mother who recently delivered at Saint John’s. “Now that I have a baby, the idea of an abduction just breaks my heart. I am so glad to have delivered at Saint John’s. I never worried about my baby. The security systems in place are so good and everyone is so friendly — the nurses knew my name and recognized my children and husband on sight — I think it would be almost impossible for something like that to happen.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 10, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)