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By Ron Walters
This post is a guest editorial that appeared in the March 2015 issue of Northeast/Midwest Sentinel. (View the article online.) Posted with permission of the publisher and author.
It wasn’t a headline or feature story butt it caught my eye. In spite of the perception that the alarm industry is the biggest issue for law enforcement, perhaps we aren’t. After all, the alarm industry’s relationship with Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS) in our joint attempt to reduce dispatches is well documented.
As reported by Businessweek, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Reilly just announced that our nation’s PSAPS are experiencing 84 million false 9-1-1 calls annually, with 70% coming from cellular phones. To make matters worse, half of these were inadvertent “butt calls”. These calls have become so prevalent because our elected representatives decided that whether a phone was locked or not, it should be 9-1-1 capable. On the surface an honorable mission, but as Sir Isaac Newton said so many years ago, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.
For the last two years our industry has supported the Association of Police Communication Officers (APCO) in fighting the FCC and this same FCC Commissioner from requiring every device that connects to the Internet to be 9-1-1 capable. Really? Can you imagine the impact of every game console being connected to 9-1-1? Heck, you can’t even call a game console back.
If we truly have a common mission with law enforcement then we need to actively support them. That’s what this article is really about.
The largest joint project in the history of our relationship is without question the up and coming ASAP to PSAP project. The Automated Secure Alarm Protocol to the Public Sector Answering Point(s) is a direct link between the PSAP and our central stations. Over the last 25 years there have been several attempts to launch similar programs; however, the biggest hurdle was always having direct communications with law enforcements Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software. For security, no outside source was allowed to directly interface with these CAD programs. Also, if there was ever going to be any such connection it would require that all CAD vendors and all monitoring automation vendors come together to develop compatible software.
So what exactly is the point of ASAP to PSAP?
First and foremost is the “hands off” functionality. This means we can dispatch to the PSAP, and they can receive it, without any human interaction. Also, the dispatch can be canceled in the same fashion. In fact in some communities the alarm dispatch could potentially end up on a computer screen in a patrol car without ever having been read at the PSAP.
On the industry side the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) has not only spearheaded this effort, their members have helped finance it. Influential industry leaders such as Pam Petrow of Vector Security, Ed Bonifas of EDS and Bill Hobgood from the City of Richmond, Virginia have taken the leadership position in ASAP to PSAP and their efforts should be applauded.
ASAP to PSAP is the perfect example of how we work with law enforcement. It is truly a joint effort and promises to have a huge impact on reducing false dispatches. If you are on the monitoring side of our industry you need to contact the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) at www.csaaintl.org.
ASAP to PSAP is a monumental step in our relationship with law enforcement. No If’s, And’s or Butt’s about it, whether you are on the installation or monitoring side of the industry, you should follow the link to learn more about this vital program that promises to alter the landscape of police dispatches to alarms.
Ron Walters is a Director of SIAC and is a 35 year veteran of the alarm industry. He can be reached at ronw@siacinc.org.
Attending ISC West this month? Then you have a golden opportunity to learn from law enforcement how verified alarms lead to priority response.
Free
Session Sponsored by PPVAR: April 16, 4-6:00 PM
Sheriffs and police chiefs from across the country come together on a panel hosted by the PPVAR (Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response) to share how video verified alarms impact alarm response in their communities. A key focus will be law enforcement’s perspective on how the PPVAR’s new BEST PRACTICES strengthen the partnership between the “alarm industry” and “law enforcement” to deliver arrests and safer communities – with more RMR and stickier customers.
Reception following! More information.
On March 22, 2015 at 7:06 p.m., a motion sensor alarm was received from an American Alarm and Communications customer in Richmond, VA. Upon call verification, American Alarm Central Station Operator Bob Goulet used the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) to contact Richmond police and transfer information to the Richmond PSAP. It was the first ASAP dispatch made from a central station in New England.
“After working hard with the CSAA to implement ASAP, we were very excited to put the system into live action,” said Chris Newhook, Central Station Manager at American Alarm. “Our team is trained and ready to react. Bob did an excellent job.”
The alarm came from the Richmond location of a multi-state retail operation headquartered in Massachusetts. American Alarm operates its own dedicated Five Diamond Central Station and now has ASAP capability in Richmond, Washington D.C. and Tempe, AZ. American Alarm and the CSAA are now working with the City of Boston to implement ASAP as part of the city’s ongoing dispatch center upgrade.
Central station operator Bob Goulet, left, receives a $50 gift card from American Alarm CFO Louis Sampson for making the first dispatch using ASAP.
In a message to CSAA members today, President Jay Hauhn announced that Louis T. Fiore, president of L.T. Fiore, Inc., will assume the position of CSAA interim Executive Vice President beginning Wednesday, October 1, following the retirement of Steve Doyle.
“The CSAA executive committee and I are thrilled that Lou has agreed to lead CSAA during this period of transition. Lou’s distinctive industry accomplishments uniquely qualify him for the position. I look forward to the next several months with confidence, knowing that the association is in good hands,” said Hauhn in his statement.
“I am honored to have been selected as CSAA’s interim Executive Vice President,” said Fiore. “I look forward to working with CSAA staff, our members, our public sector partners and sister associations. I hope to make a beneficial impact during my stay.”
Lou Fiore
Fiore is a Past President of CSAA (1997-1999) and now serves as chair of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) and of the CSAA Standards Committee. He is also chair of SIA’s Security Industry Standards Council (SISC). He is a long-time member of the Supervising Station Committee of NFPA 72, a member of NFPA’s Premises Security Committee (NFPA 730 & 731), a member of NFPA’s Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and Warning Equipment (NFPA 720), a member of the NFPA 72 Technical Correlating Committee, and has been a member of various UL Standards Technical Panels.
Fiore’s career also includes posts at CBS Laboratories, Inc., Manager of Product Development at ADT Security Systems, President and Co-founder of Cardinal Technologies, Inc., Vice President and General Manager of the Security Products Division of Repco, Inc., and Vice President of Engineering and Purchasing for National Guardian Corporation. For the past nearly 20 years, he has worked in his own consulting practice.
Fiore was the 1992 recipient of the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) George Lippert Memorial Award, the 2005 recipient of the CSAA Stanley C. Lott Award, and was inducted into Security Sales and Integration Magazine’s Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1999, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the “America Burning” panel.
