HOUSTON, TEXAS: The Houston Emergency Center (HEC) has implemented a revolutionary computer-aided dispatch system (CAD) communications system—the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP)—that will offer an innovative and cost-effective way to process information from alarm monitoring stations needing emergency dispatch.

ASAP, a national program that is the result of a partnership between the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, is expected to save the city of Houston $1-2 million annually, according to HEC Director David Cutler.

As the fourth-largest 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) in the United States, HEC often is at the forefront in identifying innovative technological trends. To date, it is the largest public safety communications agency in the country and the first in the state of Texas to implement ASAP.

“As the first major metropolitan city in the nation to use ASAP, this will serve as another tool in our efforts to provide the best possible public safety services available for the citizens of Houston,” said Cutler.

Earlier this year, two alarm companies responsible for monitoring 35,000 alarm systems in the city of Houston began transmitting alarm notifications directly to the HEC’s CAD system.  Cutler states that calls generated via ASAP are more accurate due to the reduction of miscommunication.

As more and more alarm monitoring stations begin processing alarm calls via ASAP, Cutler estimates that PSAPs will experience significant reductions in these types of calls traditionally handled by phone lines.

“Overall, this will result in more efficient call processing and greatly reduce costs for both the city of Houston and the alarm monitoring stations using the ASAP application. It will help curb the workload of our call takers and allow them to process emergency calls more efficiently,” says Cutler.

“Currently, the two pilot alarm monitoring stations using ASAP are creating about 10% of all police alarm call events in our CAD system. While a drop in telephone call volume by 8 to 13% is outstanding, a 10% reduction in the number of alarms requiring call-taker intervention is equally astonishing when you consider that we receive an average of more than 2,000 police alarms per week.”

Bill Carrow, president of APCO International, says that APCO is very pleased with the progress shown with Houston coming on-board with this project.

“By allowing the swift delivery of alarm data direct from the monitoring station to the PSAP, you not only accelerate the process, but you remove the chance for human error in mis-keying critical information, thus reducing possible loss of life and property,” says Carrow.

According to CSAA President Ed Bonifas, “The Houston implementation of ASAP is the new standard in fostering the public-private partnership between alarm monitoring companies and 9-1-1 PSAPs.”

Houston’s implementation of ASAP was conducted in concert with the CSAA being approved as an Nlets Strategic Partner Organization (SPO). Nlets, the International Justice & Public Safety Network, links the majority of the nation’s 6,500 PSAPs to international, federal and state criminal justice and public safety-related databases.

Nlets’ role in ASAP is to provide the secure transport facility for cooperative data exchanges, as demonstrated with the Houston implementation and two cities that led the beta testing of ASAP previously in Virginia—Richmond and York County.

According to Bill Hobgood, project coordinator for APCO and project manager for the city of Richmond’s Department of Information Technology Public Safety Team, the fact that CSAA is now an approved Nlets SPO will help to pave the way for additional alarm companies and 9-1-1 PSAPs to begin using ASAP this year.

“Houston’s implementation of ASAP is another exciting and outstanding milestone for the project,” says Hobgood.

He adds, “ASAP is a public-private partnership designed to eliminate telephone calls from alarm companies, eliminate miscommunications by alarm company operators and 9-1-1 PSAP call-takers, and reduce 9-1-1 processing time by two to three minutes or more. The reduction in 9-1-1 processing time has the potential for an equivalent reduction in response times by public safety first responders, resulting in a likelihood of increased law enforcement apprehensions made, fires more quickly extinguished and lives saved. The outcome for Houston and the rest of the nation is huge.”

Hobgood coordinated the Houston implementation with HEC staff, CSAA, the participating alarm central station monitoring companies, and Houston’s CAD provider Northrop Grumman, based on his experiences with the original pilot in Virginia.

Transmissions between alarm monitoring stations and the 9-1-1 PSAPs in Texas and Virginia would not have been possible without the cooperation of each respective state’s Nlets control point representative. The Texas Department of Public Safety was instrumental in providing the interface between Nlets and Houston.

The development of the ASAP ANSI-approved standard was made possible in part by funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program for the Public Safety Data Interoperability Project co-managed by the IJIS Institute and APCO.

PRESS Contact Information

About the Houston Emergency Center

The Houston Emergency Center (HEC) is a secured facility equipped with state-of-the-art emergency communications technology able to provide 24/7 round-the-clock emergency 9-1-1 services. Beyond its daily operations, the facility’s Emergency Operations Center, during times of emergency incident activation, allows interface and constant communications with local, state and federal agencies.  The center’s most significant benefit is the common protocol for interagency transaction exchange between 9-1-1, police, fire, EMS and emergency management. The HEC is one of the most impressive and technologically advanced emergency communications facilities in the country. For more information, contact Joe Laud, HEC spokesman, at 713-884-3607.

About APCO International

APCO International is the world’s largest organization of public safety communications professionals. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide — and the welfare of the general public as a whole — by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach. www.apcointl.org. For more information, contact Lindsey Coburn, marketing and communications manager for APCO, at 386-944-2441.

About CSAA International

The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) is an internationally recognized non-profit trade association. It represents central station monitoring companies that are certified by a CSAA-approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as FM Global, Intertek/ETL or UL, in the burglar and fire alarm, CCTV and access control industries. CSAA is legally entitled to represent its members before Congress and regulatory agencies on the local, state and federal levels, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) over the industry. Since its incorporation in 1950, CSAA has served its members’ interests through education, online training, meetings and conventions, certification, insurance, and industry standards. www.csaaintl.org. For more information, contact CSAA President Ed Bonifas at 630-844-5310 or CSAA Executive Committee Member Pam Petrow at 800-832-8575, ext. 2109.

About Nlets

Nlets is the premiere interstate justice and public safety network in the nation for the exchange of law enforcement-, criminal justice-, and public safety-related information. Nlets, which is owned by the States, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was created over 40 years ago by the principal law enforcement agencies of the States. The user population is composed of all of the United States and territories, all Federal agencies with a justice component, selected international agencies, and a variety of strategic partners that serve the law enforcement community—all cooperatively exchanging data. The types of data being exchanged varies from motor vehicle and drivers’ data, to Canadian and Interpol databases, to state criminal history records and driver license and corrections images. Operations consist of over 1 billion transactions a year to over 600,000 PC, mobile and handheld devices in the U.S. and Canada at 45,000 user agencies and to 1 million individual users. www.nlets.org. For more information, contact Steve Correll, Executive Director, at 623-308-3502.

About the IJIS Institute

The IJIS Institute unites the private and public sectors to improve critical information sharing for those who provide public safety and administer justice in our communities. The Institute provides training, technical assistance, national scope issue management and program management services to help government fully realize the power of information sharing. Founded in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with national headquarters on the George Washington University Virginia Campus in Ashburn, Va., the Institute has grown to nearly 200 member and affiliate companies across the U.S. www.IJIS.org. For more information, contact Martha Hill, assistant director, Outreach & Communications, IJIS Institute, at 703-726-4483.

About the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)

BJA is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The mission of the BJA is to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. One of BJA’s goals is to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system. To achieve these goals, BJA’s programs emphasize enhanced coordination and cooperation of federal, state and local efforts. www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/. For more information, contact Chris Traver at: Christopher.traver@usdoj.gov.