Technology Automates Emergency Response for More Speed and Accuracy

The City of Chesapeake, VA is the latest municipality to implement Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), a technology designed to automate communication between alarm monitoring central stations and public safety dispatch/911 centers.

Chesapeake is the 42nd PSAP in the United States and 7th PSAP in Virginia to go live with the ASAP program as of October 12, 2018.

Electronic data transmission results in the following benefits for residents and first responders:

• Fewer phone calls to emergency response centers. Alarm center data is passed to public safety dispatch/911 operators electronically within seconds and then provided to first responders upon dispatch.
• Quicker processing times. Data doesn’t have to be input manually or communicated verbally, resulting in reduced hold times, less chance of human error, and faster responses.
• Greater accuracy of information transmitted. Electronic transmission of data reduces chances for errors.

More than 900 Vector Security customers in Chesapeake will benefit from improved emergency response times via ASAP. Vector Security assisted the city by helping to perform extensive testing prior to the system going live.

“Virginia is where we debuted ASAP for the first time in 2012,” said Anita Ostrowski, Vice President of Central Station Services, Vector Security. “We’ve come a long way since being the first alarm company to introduce ASAP in Richmond, and we are glad to see the technology make its way into more municipalities across the nation, for the greater safety of our communities.”

ASAP was formed in partnership between The Monitoring Association and The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, with Vector Security President and CEO Pamela J. Petrow co-chairing the committee.

The city of Chesapeake joins Richmond and Newport News, VA, as well as the counties of York, James City, Henrico and Loudon, VA as the latest emergency response center in the state to go live with ASAP technology.

Nationwide, nearly 50 agencies have implemented, or are in the process of implementing ASAP. For a current list:  http://tma.us/asap/