TMA Welcomes 91st and 92nd ECC to its ASAP-to-PSAP Service

TMA is pleased to welcome two new Emergency Communications Centers (ECC) to its ASAP-to-PSAP service. With the addition of these, the service is being used by 92 centers across the United States.

To view a full listing of active or testing ECCs, active Alarm companies or monitoring centers, or to learn more about TMA’s ASAP-to-PSAP services, please visit our website.

TMA ASAP-to-PSAP Service Contact: Bryan Ginn, bginn@tma.us

 Beaumont, TX

The Beaumont TX Police Department 9-1-1 Operations Center became the 91st ECC in the United States and the 11th ECC in the state of Texas to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Beaumont went live on Tuesday, August 10th with Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Securitas, Security Central, Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, Affiliated Monitoring, AT&T Digital Life, Tyco (Johnson Controls), National Monitoring Center, Protection One, Brinks Home Security, Alert 360 and Vivint. ADT and United Central Control (UCC) will be brought online soon.

Chesterfield County, VA

The Chesterfield County VA Emergency Communications Center is the 92nd public safety communications center in the United States and the 18th agency in the state of Virginia to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Chesterfield County went live on Monday, September 13th with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Stanley Security, CPI, AT&T Digital Life, Guardian Protection, Protection One, Securitas, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Affiliated Monitoring, United Central Control, National Monitoring Center, Vivint, Richmond Alarm, Wegmans Security, Brinks Home Security and Security Central. ADT went live with Chesterfield County of on September 29th.

Tommy Tucker, Chesterfield’s Director of Emergency Communications, said they are excited to bring this advancement in service to the community. “Increasing our ability to assist in saving lives and protecting property by decreasing the amount of time it takes to respond to and subsequently dispatch in-progress alarm calls,” Tucker said.

TMA Members May Attend Annual Meeting for FREE

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce that through the generosity of its meeting sponsors, TMA members may now register to attend its upcoming 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting for FREE. Nonmembers may also register at a reduced rate of $450 for the three-day education and networking meeting. The virtual meeting will take place Tuesday, October 12th-Thursday, October 14th.

The 2021 meeting sponsors are:

  • Platinum – Alarm.com; Johnson Controls; MAS; and Resideo
  • Gold – ADI; ADT; and UL
  • Silver – Altronix; CIBC; DMP; and Salesforce
  • Bronze – Bosch, OneTel; and TRG Associates, Inc.

“TMA has been overwhelmed by the magnanimous generosity of our meeting sponsors who opted to support our 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting,” remarked TMA Executive Director Celia T. Besore. “Their financial support has made it possible for us to extend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to all TMA members to take part in this meeting. We are so grateful to our sponsors for making it possible for so many monitoring center professionals to acquire valuable new knowledge and to network with some of the industry’s leading authorities firsthand.”

Security Alarm Corp. acquires Alert Alarm Systems Plus

Security Alarm Corporation (SAC) of Port Charlotte, Florida, has announces the acquisition of Alert Alarm Systems Plus, Inc. (AASP) of Sarasota FL. SAC is one of Florida’s premier security companies, having been named by Business Observer to its “Top 500 Gulf Coast Companies.” The president of SAC, Justin Allbright, was praised by Business Observer as one of its “40 under 40 Class of 2020.”  The company was awarded “Integrator of the Month” by Security Sales & Integration trade journal also in 2020. SAC was founded in 1979 and has 40+ employees.

AASP was founded by Victor and Vincent Della Volpe in 1989 and is a traditional RMR company which attracted Mr. Allbright as a natural partner for the two companies. 

“We are excited about the partnership with Victor and Vincent who have built a well-run and successful business. We wanted to expand on the Gulf Coast and AASP was perfect for achieving our acquisition goals,” Mr. Allbright explained. SAC has acquired four other security companies in the past.

Victor Della Volpe said the entire acquisition process went extremely well, and he praised Steve Rubin of Davis Mergers & Acquisitions who facilitated the transaction. “Thank you, Steve. It was a pleasure working with you and we appreciate everything that you did for us.  We are very happy,” Mr. Della Volpe said.

Resideo Wins Best New Product at CEDIA 2021

Resideo’s ProSeries security and life safety platform has won the 2021 CE Pro best product award for an integrated security system.

With its innovative modular design and built-in Amazon Alexa, our ProSeries end-to-end solution brings security, life-safety and smart control together in one simple platform.

Alarm.com Joins PSA’s Network of Technology Providers

PSA, a consortium of professional systems integrators, announces the addition of Alarm.com to its network. The Alarm.com platform integrates with a growing variety of IoT devices through its apps and interfaces to provide mobile control for business security and automation system functions.

“We are thrilled to partner with Alarm.com and know the immense value this will bring to our systems integrators,” says Matt Barnette, CEO of PSA. “This partnership has been in the works for some time as the team at PSA knows that Alarm.com’s suite of products and services can give our integrators a competitive edge.”

Alarm.com’s primary offering is an operating system for the connected property, which allows business owners to remotely control video, access control, and security via an app on their phones, tablets, or other devices. The platform combines innovative software and hardware development with the sales/marketing expertise and local market knowledge of service provider partners to drive adoption of connected property solutions.

Recently, Alarm.com released Ambient Insights for Alarm Response which leverages Alarm.com’s artificial intelligence and adaptive machine learning platform to evaluate alarm signals and provide an assessment of the likelihood that the subscriber will cancel the alarm.

Alarm.com products and services are exclusively sold, installed and supported by a nationwide network of authorized service providers.

“The security of your business and property is important no matter where you are,” says Chris Salazar-Mangrum, PSA’s vice president of technology partners. “Alarm.com’s offerings allow for control of those systems from a distance. We are excited to bring Alarm.com to our integrators to provide another service to their clients.”

Calipsa Adds Advanced Real-Time and Forensic Analytic Capabilities to Its False Alarm Reduction Software

Calipsa has further unleashed the power of event-driven video surveillance software to create actionable intelligence for security operations. The new Calipsa Pro Analytics software suite adds four tiers of advanced analytics, incorporating customizable real-time alerts, camera health checks, object tracking and forensic video analysis.

“We help companies extract value from their new and existing video systems by turning video into operational business intelligence,” said Brian Baker, chief revenue officer, Calipsa. “Our advanced AI cloud-based analytics for real-time monitoring and forensic review leverage event-based video at scale to create more effective and efficient security operations.”

Calipsa Pro Analytics includes four tiers:

Calipsa Detect – Calipsa’s flagship false alarm filtering technology detects the presence of human and vehicular activity in video alarms. More than 90% of nuisance alerts are filtered out, enabling control room operators to improve monitoring efficiency and performance by focusing on true alarms.

The software enables users to mask areas of disinterest, such as roads or public spaces, further reducing false alarms. Custom schedules turn off filtering during unmonitored hours, while a mobile app and dashboard enable users to expand system control and review its performance.

Calipsa Detect Pro – This new offering complements the Detect features with a suite of camera health checks.  Alerts are issued when a camera’s angle has moved, there are significant scene changes or the camera has been tampered with. Users may receive idle camera notifications when selected cameras haven’t received alarms for more than 6 hours.

Calipsa Protect – Calipsa Protect is designed for proactive security by enabling enhanced intelligence for basic video alarms. With deep learning technology at its core, Calipsa Protect features color detection, region of interest, count-based alerts, crowd forming and loitering detection to create alerts for the events that matter most

Users may choose to receive alerts only when objects enter regions of interest, such as doorways or gates. Watchlists allow users to upload photos of objects to observe – or ignore. System algorithms send alarms for views containing similar objects on the inclusion list or filter alerts for images added to the exclusion list.

Calipsa Investigate – Combining Calipsa’s proactive analytics solutions, Investigate uses meta-based attributes to search multiple cameras for forensic analysis. Users can filter events by detecting color, loitering, crowd size and more to display relevant results for investigation. Calipsa’s algorithms search for alarms containing objects of similar appearance from all cameras or selected sites. This feature enables the tracking of an object’s movement across multiple cameras. Summarized results appear in an easy-to-review video for saving on the Calipsa platform and sharing with other stakeholders.

“Calipsa continues leading the way with solutions for analyzing event-driven video,” Baker said. “Our new tools for real-time and forensic analysis enable users to control and maximize their video surveillance investment. And with our cloud-based solution, there’s no need for onsite equipment installation and initial setup of Calipsa Pro Analytics suite takes minutes.”

Calipsa is used by over 125 customers spanning six continents. Calipsa analytics connect to over 115,000 cameras on 22,000+ supporting customers across all major verticals, including construction, manufacturing, critical infrastructure, logistics, education, healthcare, retail and safe cities.

TMA Transitions 2021 Annual Meeting to Virtual Format

TMA has, in consideration of our attendees’ health and well-being, made the decision to transition its in-person 2021 Annual Meeting to a virtual format. Originally set to take place in Maui, HI from Sat., Oct. 9th-Wed., Oct. 14th, the virtual meeting will take place Mon., Oct. 12th-Wed., Oct. 14th. The latest event information, including updated registration options, can be found on the TMA website at http://tma.us/events/tma-2021-annual-meeting/.

“While the decision to cancel our face-to-face meeting was a difficult one to make for several reasons, the increasing cases of Covid and the impact of the Delta Variant coupled with a reduction in the potential number of available hospital beds and emerging international travel restrictions, left us with little-to-no alternatives,” remarked TMA President Don Young. “We could not consciously place our members, guests, or their families in a position that may potentially compromise their health.”

TMA Education Committee Co-Chair John Brady stated, “We have an outstanding program set to deliver and a slate of interesting and compelling speakers who are prepared to address this year’s meeting attendees virtually. We are also fortunate to have a platform that provides for a high level of interaction between speakers and attendees. We’re anticipating a great meeting!”

Go to http://tma.us/events/tma-2021-annual-meeting/ to view event information.

House Budget Proposes $10B for NG911

The House Energy & Commerce Committee released its portion of the Budget Reconciliation Act on August 24, which appropriates $10 billion for Next Generation 911 (“NG911”).  The funds are to remain available until September 30, 2026 and be used for equipment and services to implement, operate, and maintain NG911 and to cover associated training costs.  The bill also provides an additional $80 million to establish the Next Generation 9-1-1 Cybersecurity Center to coordinate with government officials on cybersecurity guidelines and prevention tactics as well as $20 million in funding to establish a 16-member Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Advisory Board to make recommendations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

IACP Endorse Model Alarm Ordinance

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recently passed a resolution that endorses the Model Alarm Ordinance as a tool for promoting “bests practices” to achieve a reduction in alarm dispatches and recommends the ordinance to its 31,000 members in 165 countries.

The ordinance, already in use in approximately 1,000 jurisdictions, was developed and tested in a cooperative effort between the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), the IACP, and the National Sheriffs’ Association.

The IACP resolution notes that the organization “recognizes the need for and value of enforcement tools and alarm management processes recommended in this Model Ordinance to achieve the desired reduction in alarm dispatches experienced by police agencies.”

“When fully implemented and enforced, the Model Ordinance results in an approximate 60% reduction or more in alarm dispatches,” said Stan Martin, SIAC Executive Director. “The ordinance focuses on the very small percentage of systems that cause problems for law enforcement and takes into account that 85% of alarm systems generate no dispatches in any given year.”

The Model Ordinance incorporates best practices that have proven to reduce calls for services, including:

  • ECC – Enhanced Call Confirmation (previously called Enhanced Call Verification or ECV) – Two calls to different numbers to determine the cause of the alarm and whether a dispatch is required. Video, audio, and other means of confirmation are also included in the referenced ANSI CS-V01 standard in the Model Ordinance.
  • Requiring Alarm Permits w/fees – Registration for security systems is critical for the effective management of alarm programs.
  • Limiting Free Responses/fines – Setting reasonable fines for alarm dispatches can be a significant deterrent to the occasional offender. Allowing a maximum of two free responses before incurring fines is advisable. Utilizing one free response will yield even higher dispatch reductions.
  • Ceasing Response to Chronic Abusers – The industry supports stopping response to the chronic abusers while including a reasonable appeal and restoration process.
  • Accepting Cancellations – Allowing calls to be canceled if originating party verifies response is not needed.

“SIAC recognizes and supports the importance of a strong relationship between law enforcement and the private sector,” said Martin. “As the industry’s voice on electronic security issues, SIAC is committed to continuing its decades-long collaboration with leading law enforcement organizations such as the IACP to support our shared mission to protect lives and property.”

VA 757/948 Area Code Overlay – REMINDER – Alarm, Security, and Elevator Letter

Please reference this letter for information about the Virginia 757/948 area code overlay as it relates to actions that may need to be taken by providers of Alarm, Security, and Elevator equipment.

Beginning on September 11, 2021, it is imperative that alarm, security, and elevator alarm companies reprogram alarm panels in their customers’ premises if they currently are programed to dial out seven digits to reach the alarm monitoring bureau.  If they are dialing out seven digits now, they must be reprogrammed to dial out a ten-digit number which includes the 757 area code plus telephone number.

As co-chairs of the Industry’s Virginia 757/948 Area Code Overlay Relief Implementation Committee, we request that you please share the attached information with your membership to advise them of the start of permissive 10-digit dialing on 9/11/2021.  Prior to the start of Mandatory Dialing in April 2022, we will modify this notice and send it to you for a second distribution.

If you have any questions, please contact us:

Co-Chairs for the VA 757/948 Area Code Overlay Industry Committee

Laura Dalton, Verizon
914-821-9686
Laura.r.Dalton@verizon.com           

Nicole Febles, T-Mobile
973-960-0913
nicole.febles@t-mobile.com