Get to Zero: Reducing Unnecessary Dispatches with AVS-01

In the electronic security industry, the ANSI/TMA-AVS-01 Alarm Validation Scoring Standard stipulates that monitoring centers adopt standardized metrics and language classifications when assessing burglar alarm activations. The more precise the classification, the smarter the response. At the center of the “Get to Zero” philosophy is AVS Level 0, which identifies alarm events verified as not requiring a call for service to an emergency communications center (ECC).

Get to Zero is the mindset of maximizing those Level 0 determinations. It isn’t a program or certificate; it’s an operational commitment to prevent unnecessary calls for service, so law enforcement officers are available when it truly matters. This translates into disciplined reporting, clear SOPs, practical training, rigorous verification, and collaboration with alarm dealers and public-safety partners.

Why This Matters Now

Many law enforcement agencies are reevaluating their alarm response policies due to stretched resources. Monitoring centers that document consistent, defensible classifications and reduce unnecessary calls align with how ECCs prefer to triage incidents. AVS-01 is explicitly intended to support law enforcement resource allocation and call for service prioritization, and verified alarms are commonly given higher-priority responses in many jurisdictions. Even minor improvements compound; for example, if a center processes ~100,000 alarms a year, a five-point lift in its Level 0 rate could avert roughly 5,000 dispatches.

Performance around the industry shows what’s possible. Centers that combine disciplined SOPs with strong verification, user/app cancellation, video or audio review, and system analytics routinely achieve about 90% Level 0 for certain alarm types. Results vary by alarm type and customer mix, but the direction is clear: more verification, fewer unnecessary dispatches, and stronger credibility with partners.

Level 0 in Plain Terms

Level 0 means verified no dispatch. Evidence suggests that law enforcement intervention isn’t necessary. Verification can come from several sources: a user who cancels through an app or on a callback, video or audio that shows no unauthorized activity, or system data that clearly indicates a non-actionable cause, such as an environmental trigger or a known equipment issue.

In practice, the operator’s question is straightforward: for each Level 1, what additional verification would be required to achieve a confident Level 0 before contacting the ECC? If the answer is a secondary call, a quick video check, or a note we failed to consult, there’s a process opportunity to capture.

Build the Foundation: Embed Measurement in the Workflow

You can’t improve what you can’t see. Integrate AVS-01 reporting into the daily workflow, not quarterly. Define the metric simply: Level 0 rate = Level 0 alarms ÷ total alarms for the period. Segment by alarm type and verification method to prevent patterns from disappearing in averages. A weekly report maintains focus without data fatigue, especially if it highlights the small set of sites that drive the majority of preventable dispatches.

Don’t just count outcomes; capture why dispatch occurred. For every “no findings” call, note what was missing: a secondary call that didn’t happen, a video that wasn’t checked, or an ambiguous SOP step. Those notes become targeted fixes that stick.

Make Procedures Crystal Clear

If borderline decisions depend on who’s on shift, you don’t have a process, you have a coin toss. SOPs should be short, visual where possible, and written like a decision tree: user/app cancel → video or audio review → system analytics → dispatch only if uncertainty remains. Keep the path to Level 0 obvious when evidence justifies it, and require documentation so the next operator can see the same reasoning.

Training turns procedures into a habit. Quarterly micro-sessions (20 – 30 minutes) built around real clips and notes sharpen judgment and keep AVS-01 classifications consistent across the team. Quality assurance closes the loop: sample 5% – 10% of handled alarms each week to identify missed verifiers and fuzzy notes, then coach with specific details.

Reduce False Alarms at the Source

Every false alarm you prevent is an unnecessary call you’ll never debate. Enhanced Call Confirmation (ECC, and previously known as Enhanced Call Verification, or ECV) should be standard secondary outreach before escalation, and compliance should be tracked at the operator level. Clients benefit from straightforward education that’s easy to overlook: arming/disarming routines, holiday schedules, cleaner/vendor access, and pet-friendly settings that match reality. Small nudges can be helpful, such as sending short reminders ahead of seasonal changes or site events.

Technology and process share the load. Proactive system health checks, especially for sensors that repeatedly generate non-actionable trips, pinpoint equipment that’s due for replacement or repositioning. Pattern analysis surfaces recurring issues (same day/time each week, a specific zone after opening). Sometimes, the fix is a schedule adjustment; sometimes, it’s a hardware issue. Modern sensors that more accurately detect human presence can significantly reduce Level 1 volume.

See It, Don’t Dispatch It

Video and audio turn guesswork into decisions. If a site has video, checking it should be required before dispatch, with a documented reason provided when footage is unavailable or too slow to retrieve. Audio talk-down can resolve many situations without escalation and creates useful context for later review. Analytics add another layer: signals that flag human presence, recognize known users, or detect low-priority patterns help operators move faster and defend their choices in the log.

This is as much a matter of workflow as technology: operators need a fast, two-click scan, not a click maze, and a clear wait-time threshold for clip retrieval. Once it’s reached, move to an alternate verifier and log the reason code. Track the outcome: the percentage of alarms with video/audio reviewed pre-dispatch and the resulting lift in the Level 0 rate.

Collaborate to Move the Baseline

No single center has all the answers. Industry associations (i.e. TMA and PPVAR) are strong forums for refining verification practices and sharing best practices. On the public-safety side, communicating your documentation standards and Level 0 rigor to ECC partners builds trust and creates shared expectations for how information will be presented.

Credentialing can signal seriousness. UL Solutions’ CAVS program provides a path to validate conformance with AVS-01 elements. Certification doesn’t replace day-to-day discipline, but it demonstrates to law enforcement and clients that your procedures are based on an external standard.

Measure What Matters

A short scorecard keeps the effort on track. Start with five items: overall Level 0 rate, Level 1s reclassified to Level 0, ECC compliance, count of no findings dispatches, and operator retraining completion. Review the first three weekly and the last two at least monthly. Segment by alarm type and verification method and use a 90-day window to see trends rather than noise. Most importantly, assign owners and set a routine cadence. Progress lives where someone is accountable.

If you publish a benchmark, such as a ~90% Level 0 for defined scenarios, define the context so readers can replicate it: include alarm types, verification methods used, the time window analyzed, and the size of the account set. One disclosure sentence keeps you precise without bogging down the narrative.

Quick Wins That Create Momentum

• Enable callback verification for all single-zone activations and track operator compliance.
• Add short entry-delay notifications (app/SMS) so users can correct disarm errors before calls start.
• Create a frequent false alarm protocol that auto-triggers an audit after three non-actionable alarms in 30 days; decide in advance whether the likely remedy is SOP, schedule, or hardware.
• Make Level 0 wins visible. Recognize operators and sites that deliver reclassification gains; it teaches the behaviors you want repeated.

Benefits That Extend Beyond Your Walls

The payoff for reducing unnecessary calls is greater than the value of any single KPI. Cleaner classifications give ECC telecommunicators and officers better situational awareness. Fewer non-events in the queue free resources for real emergencies. Consistent documentation builds credibility with public partners and clients. In a world where every response has an opportunity cost, calls prevented are a performance measure that matters.

A Simple Way to Start

Tomorrow morning, pull last month’s dispatch data. Circle every Level 1 that ended with no findings; those are prime candidates for de-escalation to Level 0 with better verification. Treat that list as your reclassification backlog and first wave of fixes. Set a 90-day internal goal to raise the Level 0 rate by ~10 percentage points where verification is available, and assign owners for ECV, video checks, and operator coaching. Review progress weekly with your team and brief partners quarterly.

The daily question is the same for every alarm: Can we verify this without needing to call for service? When you answer yes more often, safely, and consistently, you earn the credibility that makes every future call more effective. That’s the essence of Get to Zero.