Alexandria, VA – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International has filed a Project Initiation with ANSI for the creation of a candidate standard titled Common Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Public Safety GIS Identifiers.

Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems are the principal application used by public safety agencies to manage law enforcement, fire and EMS incidents from the initial time an incident is reported, to the conclusion of the incident. These systems may be composed of both tabular records management systems (RMS) and spatial or geographic information (Geofile) systems.

“The use of CAD systems is the cornerstone of how our ECC’s manage the resources and response to calls for service,” said Jason Kern, APCO International President. “Once complete, this standard will provide public safety agencies with the minimum set of requirements to allow sharing of geographic data.”

This standard focuses on the Geofile aspect of database updating and identifies a minimum set of CAD oriented geographic import/export database file requirements necessary to allow multiple agencies to share public safety geographic data and databases updates, utilizing 9-1-1 infrastructure and data, among disparate CAD systems.

The CAD Public Safety GIS Identifiers call for participation will begin in February 2022.

APCO International® (www.apcointl.org)
APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide – and the welfare of the general public – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.