Loitering and dwell time
Loitering and dwell time sensor monitoring
No cameras. Live operators, 24/7.
Restrooms, locker rooms and stairwells are where people are most alone and where cameras cannot go. A camera-free sensor knows when someone stays too long, stops moving or is joined by too many others, and the alert goes straight to the Sirix command center. A live operator responds on your site’s protocol, day and night, across the US and Canada.
Loitering and dwell time monitoring, also called restroom loitering sensor monitoring, uses camera-free sensors to flag when someone stays in a private space too long, stops moving, or when too many people gather. With Sirix, every alert reaches a live operator at a 24/7 command center, who responds on the site’s protocol, with or without cameras.
Flags anyone who stays too long in a private space
Detects when a person stops moving, a sign of a medical emergency
Alerts when too many people gather in one room
No camera, no audio recording and no personal data in the room
Exact room location sent with every alert
500+ manufacturers supported, so alerts can come from the sensors you already own
Sense. Alert. Respond.
How does loitering and dwell time monitoring work?
The sensor measures presence and movement. The alert goes to a live operator. Your protocol decides what happens next.
Too long inside. The sensor tracks how long someone stays in a room. When a visit passes the limit you set for that space, an alert goes out with the room's location. Each site sets its own limits, room by room.
No movement. When a person inside stops moving for longer than expected, the sensor raises a stillness alert. In a restroom, that can be the first sign of a fall, a fainting spell, a seizure or a suspected overdose behind a locked door.
Too many people. The sensor counts how many people are in a space. A group gathering in a school restroom during class or in a stairwell at night triggers a crowding alert. To know what they are doing there, pair it with vape detection.
What a loitering sensor can flag
Time
- A visit longer than the limit set for the room
- Presence in a room that should be empty after hours
- Repeated long visits to the same space
Movement
- A person who stops moving for longer than expected
- No motion after someone enters and the door closes
- Movement in a space that should be closed
Occupancy
- More people in a room than its limit
- A group forming in a restroom, stairwell or vestibule
- Live people counts for each monitored space
Manufacturer reported: detection types, ranges and limits vary by sensor model and are confirmed during your site assessment.
See it work
From a quiet room to a live response, in seconds
The sensor sees time, movement and people. A Sirix operator takes the alert and follows your protocol. Pick a situation and watch it play out.
All clear. Operators standing by.
Restroom 2, inside for 10 minutes
Reaching the command centerShown when a camera covers the entrance
How a monitored loitering sensor alert works. Too long inside: a visitor passes the time limit set for the restroom, the alert reaches a live Sirix operator, who checks the hallway camera when one is available, can speak through a speaker in the room where one is installed, and notifies the site contact on the site's protocol. No movement: a person inside stops moving, the operator treats it as a possible medical emergency and sends staff or calls 911 on the site's protocol, with no voice intervention. Too many people: more people gather than the room's limit, the operator checks the hallway camera, can ask the group to clear the room through the speaker, and notifies staff. Every alert and response is documented.
Illustration, with time sped up. Each site sets its own limits, and its protocol decides every step.
The Sirix layer
The sensor knows something is wrong. A live operator acts on it.
A sensor can tell you someone has been inside too long. It cannot check on them, call for help or decide what to do next. Sirix connects to any sensor, camera or not, and a trained, bilingual operator takes every alert 24/7 and follows your site’s protocol to the letter. When cameras cover the hallway or the entrance, operators also check them through remote video monitoring before and while they act.
What a hallway camera can show the operator when a dwell time alert comes in.
The sensor raises an alert
Too long inside, no movement or too many people. The alert reaches the Sirix command center with the exact room and the type of alert.
An operator takes it
A live Sirix operator responds immediately. No alert waits in an inbox or on a phone that nobody checks.
Cameras add proof, when you have them
If cameras cover the area around the room, the operator checks who went in, whether they came out and whether anyone else is involved. No cameras? The operator still acts.
The operator follows your protocol
Your protocol sets the actions for each situation and their order. Depending on the site and the situation, operators can contact the person on site, use voice intervention where speakers are installed, call 911 or an ambulance, dispatch a guard through RSPNDR or your own guard agency, and notify the contacts you name. Every alert and response is documented.
A sensor knows someone has not moved. A live operator makes sure someone checks on them.
No camera in the room? That is the point.
Video is proof, never a precondition. Every alert gets a live response.
Where cameras are not allowed
Restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms cannot have a camera. The sensor still knows when someone stays too long or stops moving, and a hallway camera, if you have one, shows who goes in and out.
Where cameras are missing
Stairwells, back corridors and storage rooms often have no coverage at all, and they are where people stay unseen the longest.
Either way, operators act
With or without video, a live operator follows your protocol for every alert. The task leaves your team’s hands.
A sensor alone hands you a notification. Sirix takes it from there.
What a loitering sensor does, and what monitored dwell time alerts add
A loitering sensor alone
Monitored loitering and dwell time alerts with Sirix
Measures time, movement and occupancy
Measures time, movement and occupancy
Sends a notification to a phone or dashboard
Sends the alert to a 24/7 command center
Someone has to see it, even at 3 a.m.
A live operator takes it, day or night
Staff decide what to do under pressure
Operators follow your protocol to the letter
Nobody sees who went in
Operators check nearby cameras, when available
A no movement alert can sit unread
A no movement alert gets a response right away
A notification in a log
A documented alert and response
Nobody knows if the sensor goes offline
Device health and tamper alerts monitored
Simple to deploy and support
Easy to set up. Easier to live with.
Sirix oversees the rollout, handling the configuration and every connection to our command center. Choose monitoring and the extra steps are ours too.
Mounts on the ceiling or wall of the room
Connects over ethernet or a supported wireless link
An encrypted connection from your site to our command center
Live operators respond, 24/7
Self-monitored
The sensor, our configuration and time limits set for each room, and alerts delivered to your own team by text, email or app.
Professionally monitored
The secure link to our command center, video verification on any linked cameras, and live operator response on your site’s protocol.
Time limits, stillness settings, occupancy limits, schedules, alert routing and escalation contacts are set up by Sirix and tuned to each space. There is nothing for your team to program.
If a linked camera or a speaker is part of your protocol, Sirix connects it to the command center and confirms that it works.
Before go live, we test each room's alerts with your staff, so everyone knows what happens when an alert comes in.
If anything goes wrong at any point, our team is on it around the clock to fix it fast and keep your coverage live.
Sirix supports 500+ manufacturers of cameras, intercoms, DVRs and other devices, and connects loitering, dwell time and occupancy alerts from multisensor brands such as HALO, including its Amplify occupancy sensor, and Triton. If a device can send an alert, Sirix can receive it. Compatibility is confirmed during your site assessment.
What it costs
How much does restroom loitering sensor monitoring cost?
Loitering and dwell time sensor monitoring services in North America generally fall between $10.00 and $75.00 per device per month, depending on the services required.
per device, per month, in most cases
Low end of the range
Alerts delivered to your own team by text, email or app. Your staff see each one and decide what to do. Sensor configuration and room limits included.
High end of the range
Every alert is taken by a live operator, 24/7, with or without cameras.
- Alert monitoring by live operators at a 24/7 command center
- Video verification on linked cameras, when available
- Response on your site's protocol: on site contact, 911 or ambulance, guard dispatch
- Voice intervention where speakers are installed
- Device health and tamper monitoring
Typical North American market rates for loitering and dwell time sensor monitoring, shown for orientation, not a Sirix price list. Sensor hardware and installation are separate. Your site assessment confirms your rate.
Our operator promise
Every alarm reaches a real person
Bilingual Sirix operators answer every alarm the moment it comes in, around the clock. No alarm waits for business hours, and no alarm is handled by a machine.
of alarms answered by a live Sirix operator
every day of the year, alarms never wait for office hours
AI, a robot or an answering machine, always a trained operator
10+ years in business, with a redundant backup center.
Privacy by design
Safety in private spaces, without surveillance
Loitering sensors measure presence, time and movement, never identity. That is why they can protect the private spaces where people are most alone.
- That someone is in the room
- How long they have been inside
- Whether they are still moving
- How many people are inside
- Who they are
- What they look like
- What they say
- Any personal information
No video or audio is ever captured in the room.
Covered, moved or unplugged, the sensor tells our operators.
We review every location with you during the site assessment.
No personally identifiable information captured, manufacturer reported. Privacy requirements vary by jurisdiction, and capabilities vary by model.
Where it works
Built for the spaces no one can watch
Loitering and dwell time monitoring belongs wherever someone can be alone behind a closed door. Sirix operators respond for every industry below.
Healthcare and senior living
Patient restrooms, clinic washrooms and resident bathrooms are where a fall, a fainting spell or a suspected overdose can go unnoticed behind a locked door. A stillness alert brings a live operator, who notifies your staff or calls for medical help on your protocol, while privacy stays intact.
Retail, quick service and convenience stores
Public restrooms see long stays, drug use and unresponsive visitors, and your staff are often the ones who find them. With theft and violence rising, the National Retail Federation reports an 18% increase in shoplifting incidents and a 17% increase in theft-related violence in 2024. Operators respond to every restroom alert so your team does not have to guess.
Related: retail security
Multifamily residential
Stairwells, laundry rooms, garage vestibules and common restrooms are shared, often empty and rarely watched at night. Alerts for long stays and after-hours presence reach an operator who checks nearby cameras and acts on your protocol.
Related: multifamily residential security
Schools and campuses
Restrooms and locker rooms are where students gather out of sight during class, and where cameras are never allowed. Crowding and long stay alerts tell staff where to look, and stillness alerts make sure a student in trouble is found fast.
Office buildings
Shared restrooms, stairwells and quiet floors after hours are where an employee who collapses or a visitor who stays too long goes unnoticed. Operators respond on your protocol, day and night.
Related: commercial building security
Also used in libraries, municipal buildings and bank ATM vestibules.
What is at stake
When someone stays too long, minutes matter
Restrooms are where emergencies happen out of sight, and where staff are usually the first to find them. In a New York City business survey published in 2017, 58% of managers had encountered drug use in their business bathrooms, and 90% had no overdose response training. Loitering itself is not always a crime; local rules decide what counts as loitering. A response protocol decides what happens next.
of New York City business managers surveyed had encountered drug use in their business bathrooms.
overdoses in Massachusetts General Hospital’s restrooms in a single year.
overdoses detected by restroom stillness sensors across more than 15,000 restroom visits.
Source: Health Affairs, 2025
Duty of care
Staff, patients, residents and students count on someone noticing when something is wrong. A notification does not notice. A live operator does.
Liability
When an emergency in your restroom goes unanswered, the exposure lands on you. A documented response changes that story.
Staff safety
Your team should not be the only ones checking locked doors. Operators share the load, around the clock.
Dignity
Sensors protect people without watching them. Help arrives without a camera in the room.
Which alert fits which situation
Alert
What the sensor sees
Typical use
Example limit
Too long inside
A visit longer than the limit for the room
Restrooms, fitting rooms, vestibules
10 minutes inside
No movement
A person inside who stops moving
Restrooms, patient rooms, locker rooms
1 minute without movement
Too many people
More people than the room’s limit
School restrooms, stairwells, lobbies
Set by the site
After-hours presence
Someone in a space that should be empty
Offices, stairwells, storage rooms
Any presence after closing
Example limits from a health authority trial in British Columbia (Island Health). Every Sirix site sets its own limits, room by room.
One sensor, many possibilities
More than a loitering sensor
The same sensor behind your loitering and dwell time alerts can do much more. Explore the monitored services Sirix offers.
Vape aerosol, THC oil and masking sprays in the spaces cameras cannot watch, verified and acted on by operators.
CO2, carbon monoxide, particulates and VOCs tracked room by room, with a live operator behind every alarm.
A spoken safeword or a panic button sends a silent alert, and a live operator sends help.
Words of aggression, bullying and distress detected as they are spoken, with no audio recorded, so a conflict reaches an operator early.
Cigarette and cannabis smoke, nicotine and the sprays used to mask them, verified and acted on by operators.
Temperature, humidity and energy conditions tracked in real time, so unsafe rooms surface early and you cut wasted energy.
360-degree gunshot detection with dual authentication, so a confirmed shot reaches operators in seconds.
Raised voices, fighting, glass break and screams, so a conflict gets a response before it becomes an injury.
Detects phone use in restricted areas, even burner phones, so policy holds where supervision is hardest.
Alerts the moment the sensor is covered, moved or interfered with, so your coverage cannot be quietly switched off.
Detects movement in spaces that should be empty, so after-hours activity and trespassing reach an operator right away.
Works alongside
Camera analytics that flag loitering at entrances, lots and building exteriors.
Live operators watching your camera feeds on any schedule you choose.
Live announcements through site speakers when your protocol calls for it.
Video confirmation of any alarm before and during dispatch.
Security integrator? Offer monitored loitering and dwell time alerts to your clients, behind your brand. Become a partner
Get started
Put a live operator behind every private space
Tell us about your restrooms, stairwells and other private spaces. We design the monitoring plan around your real risks and your protocol.
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Prefer to talk? Call 1-855-788-1919 or email info@sirixmonitoring.com.
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Frequently asked questions
Loitering and dwell time monitoring, answered
What is loitering and dwell time monitoring?
Loitering and dwell time monitoring, also called restroom loitering sensor monitoring, uses camera-free sensors to flag when someone stays in a private space too long, stops moving, or when too many people gather. With Sirix, every alert reaches a live operator at a 24/7 command center, who responds on the site’s protocol, with or without cameras, across the US and Canada.
How does a loitering sensor work without a camera?
A loitering sensor measures presence, movement and the number of people in a room using technologies such as radar or body heat sensing, depending on the model. It knows that someone is there and how long they stay, never who they are. When a limit set for the room is passed, it sends an alert to the Sirix command center.
Can a sensor detect an overdose in a restroom?
A sensor cannot detect drugs. It detects stillness: a person inside who stops moving for longer than expected. That can be the first sign of a suspected overdose, a fall, a fainting spell or a seizure behind a locked door. A Sirix operator receives the stillness alert and follows the site’s protocol, which can include notifying staff or calling for medical help.
What happens when a loitering or dwell time alert is triggered?
The alert reaches the Sirix command center with the room and the alert type. A live operator follows the site’s protocol, which sets the actions and their order for each situation. Depending on the site, that can mean contacting the person on site, checking nearby cameras, using voice intervention, calling 911 or an ambulance, or dispatching a guard.
Do operators need cameras to respond?
No. Sirix can be the command center for any device, camera or not. Without video, operators still follow the site’s protocol for every alert. When cameras cover the hallway or entrance near the room, operators also check who went in and whether anyone else is involved, which adds proof before and during the response.
How long counts as loitering in a restroom?
There is no universal limit. Each site sets its own, room by room. As an example, a British Columbia health authority trial sent alerts when a restroom occupant had not moved for one minute or had been inside for 10 minutes. Sirix configures limits for each space during setup and adjusts them over time.
Does a loitering sensor record video or audio?
The loitering and occupancy sensors Sirix monitors have no camera, record no video or audio and capture no personally identifiable information, manufacturer reported. That is why they can be used in restrooms, locker rooms and other private spaces where cameras are not allowed. Exact capabilities are confirmed during the site assessment.
Is it legal to put a sensor in a restroom?
Camera-free sensors that record no video or audio are designed for private spaces such as restrooms. Privacy requirements vary by jurisdiction, so Sirix reviews placement with each site during the site assessment, and sites should confirm any local notice requirements.
How much does loitering sensor monitoring cost?
Loitering and dwell time sensor monitoring in North America generally costs between $10.00 and $75.00 per device per month, depending on the services required. These are typical market rates, not a Sirix price list. Self-monitored service sits at the low end. Professionally monitored service with live operators sits at the high end. Sensor hardware and installation are separate, and a site assessment confirms the rate.
What is the difference between loitering sensors and loitering detection AI?
Loitering detection AI uses cloud analytics on cameras to flag people lingering at entrances, parking lots and building exteriors. Loitering sensors work without cameras, inside private spaces such as restrooms, stairwells and locker rooms. Sirix monitors both, and every alert from either reaches the same 24/7 command center.
Can the sensor tell when too many people are in a room?
Yes, on models with people counting. The sensor counts the people in a space and raises a crowding alert when the number passes the room’s limit, such as a group gathering in a school restroom during class or in a stairwell at night. A Sirix operator then follows the site’s protocol.
Which loitering sensors can Sirix monitor?
Sirix supports 500+ manufacturers and is technology agnostic. It connects loitering, dwell time and occupancy alerts from multisensor brands such as HALO, including its Amplify occupancy sensor, and Triton. If a device can send an alert, Sirix can receive it. Through its partners, Sirix can also recommend the right equipment for a space.
Where can loitering sensors be installed?
Loitering sensors suit closed or quiet spaces where people can be alone or out of sight: restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, stairwells, laundry rooms, vestibules and storage rooms. Sirix recommends placement during the site assessment.
Who responds to the alert?
A trained, bilingual Sirix operator takes every alert, 24/7. The site’s protocol decides who goes next: staff on site, a guard through RSPNDR or the site’s own guard agency, or 911 and an ambulance when the situation calls for it. The operator stays on the alert until the protocol is complete.
Can loitering sensors work with vape detection?
Yes. Many multisensors combine occupancy, dwell time and vape detection in one device. A crowding or long stay alert shows that people gathered, and vape detection shows what they were doing. Sirix monitors both through the same command center.
Which industries use loitering and dwell time monitoring?
Healthcare and senior living, retail and quick service stores, multifamily residential buildings, schools and campuses, and office buildings use it most. Libraries, municipal buildings and banks with ATM vestibules use it too. Any space where someone can be alone behind a closed door can benefit.
Know when someone needs help, even where no camera can look
The sensor knows. Sirix acts on it. Let’s design the plan for your private spaces.
