The Town of Highland Park, Texas, became the 22nd public safety answering point (PSAP) in the U.S. and the fifth PSAP in Texas to join the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) program, a technology that automates communication between alarm monitoring central stations and 911 centers, resulting in improved accuracy and speed of emergency response. 

Highland Park went live with Vector Security on April 19, 2017. Within hours, other alarm monitoring companies also went live with Highland Park, including Affiliated Monitoring, Central Security, Guardian Protection Services, MONI Smart Security, Protection One, Rapid Response and Vivint.

ASAP was created in partnership with The Monitoring Association (then the Central Station Alarm Association or CSAA) and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), with Vector Security President and CEO Pam Petrow co-chairing the steering committee. Vector Security was the first alarm company to use ASAP in the City of Richmond, Virginia, in 2012. The ASAP program is designed to eliminate telephone calls, mistakes and miscommunication between alarm monitoring companies and 911 PSAPs and has effectively reduced 911 processing time, enabling a faster response time by public safety, Vector reported in a press release.

“As a security provider, we actively seek ways to promote ASAP’s value to municipalities and public agencies, and help other alarm companies implement it for the greater good of the industry and the safety of our communities,” Petrow said.

The implementation at Highland Park represents another milestone for the ASAP program, with Tyler Technologies becoming the newest CAD provider to implement an ASAP interface solution. The solution is now offered for Tyler’s New World Enterprise CAD product line. Former Highland Park Chief Chris Vinson, who passed away unexpectedly in June 2015, was a proponent of law enforcement priority responses to verified alarms. He met with New World Systems prior to its acquisition by Tyler Technologies to gain support for Highland Park’s becoming the first New World ASAP interface deployment site to facilitate the rapid delivery of alarm notifications from alarm monitoring companies without the use of a telephone call.

“Highland Park Department of Public Safety strives to provide the best in public safety service,” said Chief Paul Sandman, assistant director of public safety. “We continuously work toward leveraging technology in order to improve our response times for police, fire and EMS emergencies. Our new ASAP solution allows alarm integration that increases the alarm communication speed to our communications center. The ASAP solution also frees our communications specialists to handle other incoming emergency phone calls.”

The ASAP program is based on an American National Standard developed jointly by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International and The Monitoring Association. The program provides a standardized method through the use of automation and the power of Nlets to deliver alarm notifications to 911 PSAPs.