It s a typical weekend summer night,

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1 APCO bulletin,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, dassociation News & Notes d standards Alarm Monitoring Companies & PSAPs Part 1, Rationale & Evidence for a Data Exchange Standard It s a typical weekend summer night, and the phones are ringing nonstop. During this shift alone, the calltaker has handled calls for a shooting, a traffic accident with entrapment and one vehicle on fire and a robbery in progress, as well as a dozen burglar alarm calls from alarm companies. The calltaker finishes yet another call and notices that one of the sevendigit inbound lines has been ringing. The line ringing is that dreaded number most alarm monitoring companies have been given to call to report an alarm activation. The conversation goes like this: calltaker: Any town U.S.A Alarm company operator: Good evening. My name is Betty Jo with Mom & Pop Security. I m calling on a recorded line and need to report a commercial fire alarm. Calltaker: OK. At what address? Alarm co. operator: 9869 Charlie Box Court. Calltaker: 9689 Charlie Box Court? Alarm co. operator: No. It s Calltaker: Charlie Box Court? I m not finding a match for that street name in our CAD system. How do you spell that street? Alarm co. operator: (Illegible) Calltaker: I m sorry. There was interference on the line. Can you repeat the spelling please? Alarm co. operator: It is C-H-A-R-L-E-V-O-I-X. Calltaker: C-H-A-R-L-E-B-O-I-X? Alarm co. operator: (getting excited) C, Charles; H, Henry; A, Adam; R, Robert; L, Lincoln; E, Edward; V,Victor; O, Ocean; I, Ida; X, Xray! Calltaker: OK. That street is pronounced Shar-la-voy. Alarm co. operator: OK. Is that German? Calltaker: No. It s French. Alarm co. operator: I never took French in school. Calltaker: What s the name of the business? Alarm co. operator: Shar-main Chemical. Calltaker: How do you spell that? Alarm co. operator: C-H-A-R-M-I-A-N Calltaker: That s pronounced Char-me-an. And you said that this is a commercial burglar alarm, right? Alarm co. operator: No! It s a commercial fire alarm. The calltaker proceeds by asking the pertinent questions that any calltaker asks when someone is reporting a fire alarm, including the type of alarm, point of origin, floor, room number, whether the key-holder is responding, the alarm company operator number, callback telephone number, alarm company incident number, etc. Because of the ongoing miscommunication between the alarm monitoring company operator and the calltaker, the processing time evolves into two-and-ahalf to three minutes or longer before first responders are even dispatched. The problem: The information exchange between the alarm company operator and the PSAP calltaker is a recipe for disaster. Obvious problems include: 1. The PSAP calltaker initially transposed the street number when repeating it back to the alarm company operator. 2. The alarm company operator mispronounced the name of the street, and time was expended to resolve the correct spelling of the street name. 3. There was unnecessary chatter between the two agents. 4. The PSAP calltaker almost classified the alarm event as a burglar alarm instead of a fire alarm. 5. The call-processing time increased as each piece of information was verified and corrected when necessary. Imagine this: Suppose the PSAP calltaker hadn t repeated the street number or event type. The police were dispatched to a burglar alarm at the wrong address. 20 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS B, A m a r c h 2009 B, A w w w.a p c o i n t l.o r g

2 dbulletinrcontinued from page 20 In the meantime, the premises from which the alarm was triggered is burning. These mistakes, coupled with the unnecessary chatter, result in a delayed fire department response and someone trapped in that fire dies. The consequences of such a communication breakdown are horrible. Miscommunication between alarm company operators and PSAP calltakers occurs every day in almost every PSAP across the country. Fortunately, most mistakes are caught as information is received through the verbal repeat verification method by the calltaker. When mistakes aren t caught during this verbal information exchange, consequences can include lawsuits, disciplinary actions and a black eye for both the alarm industry and The world is culturally diverse, consisting of many different languages and speech tones. Employees working for the alarm monitoring industry and the PSAPs are no exception. Some alarm monitoring companies use call centers outside of the U.S calls from an overseas call center are often challenging for PSAP calltakers if the call center operator speaks broken English or has a heavy accent. Foreign countries aside, conversations between an alarm company operator with a thick Southern accent who is trying to relay information to a PSAP calltaker with a thick Brooklyn accent can be equally challenging. It s a fact of life: We don t all speak the same. The not so obvious problem with these telephone conversations is that they occurred at all. But how would the PSAP receive information about an alarm event if the alarm monitoring company didn t call? The short answer: via an electronic computer-to-computer data exchange that conforms to the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). A representative exchange standard, developed by APCO International in conjunction with the IJIS Institute, multiple public safety agencies and a Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) member representing the alarm monitoring industry, was approved in January 2009 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The new national standard is intended for use by all CAD providers, alarm monitoring company software providers and PSAP CAD systems. Yes, America, this new American National Standard (ANS) will eliminate these telephone conversations (potentially 34 million-plus calls nationwide), eliminate miscommunication, prevent unnecessary chatter and reduce response times by getting first responders to the scene of an emergency faster, two-and-a-half to three minutes faster at least. Functionality: The purpose of the Alarm Monitoring Company to Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Computer- Aided Dispatch (CAD) External Alarm Inter face Exchange, APCO/CSAA , formerly known as the External Alarm Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) (3.0), is to provide a standard data exchange for electronically transmitting information between an alarm monitoring company and a PSAP. Three primary uses for this standard: 1. Initial notification of an alarm event; 2. Bi-directional status update between an alarm monitoring company and the PSAP; and 3. Bi-directional update of other events between an alarm monitoring company and a PSAP. The agencies involved in the standard s pilot project are described in detail later in this article. In brief, to understand the role of each participant in a functional case model, Vector Security was the CSAA s participating member company, and the City of Richmond and York County were the two participating PSAPs from Virginia. When an alarm is triggered and results in a notification to the pilot alarm monitoring company, a Vector Security alarm operator uses a software application supported by GE Security to display details about the alarm location. The operator then initiates verification procedures based on the alarm event type and in accordance with established local or state ordinances, and internal company policies. The standard does not change procedures or policies regarding this verification process. Example: In an effort to reduce false alarms, the alarm company initiates an alarm verification process by attempting to reach someone at the alarm site. This procedure helps identify false alarms and negates the alarm company s need to notify the local PSAP of the event. In August 2008, the effectiveness of this verification process was demonstrated. Vector Security received 64,000 alarm trigger notifications from alarm sites located in Richmond. Because of the verification procedures, only 215 alarm notifications were relayed electronically to Richmond s PSAPs and required dispatching first responders. The standard itself comes into play after the verification procedures are completed. But sometimes the alarm cannot be verified as accidental or false, and the verification process can be bypassed because of event type, such as a medical alarm, resulting in the notification of The alarm company operator receives information at their workstation about the responsible jurisdiction and appropriate PSAP. The operator then initiates a command to have the alarm electronically delivered to the PSAP. There is no need for a telephone call. Example: When the Richmond PSAP first becomes aware of a new alarm event from Vector is when the alarm is displayed in the radio operator s pending call queue on the CAD screen. The entire calltaking process is eliminated along with the liabilities in the earlier hypo thetical call. The benefits: After the pilot program was in operation for two and a half years, more than 5,500 alarm exchanges were transmitted between Vector Security and the Virginia PSAPs. The benefits include: 1. 5,500 fewer calls to the PSAPs, eliminating the need for the alarm monitoring company operator to converse with the calltaker and the potential for miscommunication; and 2. A decrease in response times to alarm-related calls for service, resulting in an increase in law enforcement apprehensions, fires that were extinguished more quickly and more lives being saved. The two Virginia PSAPs receive 18,000 telephone calls annually from alarm companies that require the dispatch of first responders. This equates to 45,000 telephone calls from alarm companies in a two-and-ahalf-year period. The pilot alarm interface exchange reduced the number of calls by 5,500. After additional alarm companies come on board, the call volume to these 22 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS B, A m a r c h 2009 B, A w w w.a p c o i n t l.o r g

3 PSAPs will be reduced even further. This number does not include follow-up calls from alarm companies concerning the estimated time of arrival of the key holder or a request to cancel the call. These updates can be handled via the electronic exchange, making a call unnecessary. Alarm industry efforts: The Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) estimates that there are 38 million installed alarm systems throughout the U.S. This number grows by approximately 1.5 million annually. SIAC s mission is focused on improving alarm management structure to maximize the affect on false alarm dispatch reduction initiatives. The efforts by SIAC and interested participants have been impressive. SIAC had estimated 1.5 alarm activations per installed alarm system annually prior to the efforts of false alarm reduction initiatives. Today, there are approximately 0.9 alarm activations per installed alarm system, which equates to just more than 34 million alarm activations per installed system annually based on 38 million systems. Although a few of these alarm activations are reported by citizens, officer-initiated or received on annunciator panels in PSAPs, the majority are handled by alarm monitoring companies. The false alarm reduction initiatives include the verification standards that have been implemented along with the new ANSI SIA CP-01 Control Panel standards that have been adopted to combat alarm dispatches. The bottom line: The number of telephone calls from alarm monitoring companies to PSAPs to report a new alarm event reaches into the tens of millions, which does not include follow-up calls from those companies. It has been suggested that the total call volume from the alarm companies to the PSAPs could range between million. This new standard has the potential to eliminate most of these calls. Imagine a reduction of 25, 30 or even 40 million telephone calls to PSAPs center staff would actually be able to allocate more time and attention to callers. There is a de facto standard today that sets a goal for PSAPs to answer 90% of all incoming calls within 10 seconds or less during peak periods. Unfortunately, many PSAPs are not meeting this goal for several reasons, including staff shortages. Chapter news President Alan Marquardt (right) presents long-time chapter member Jerry Bleck with a distinguished service award. PSAPs are facing increasing call volumes, yet current economic conditions do not allow for additional resources to be hired. Methods to reduce incoming call volumes must be implemented. The alarm interface standard is one method that will net a huge reduction in telephone calls, especially to medium and large PSAPs. Background: APCO established the CAD-to-CAD Interconnectivity Project, Project 36, in August 2000 to explore the interconnectivity among different CAD systems. In August 2004, APCO encouraged the expansion and spin-off of Project 36 with the inclusion of voice and data exchange between PSAPs and third-party call center operators, such as Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) member companies. The APCO Board of Officers assigned the expanded version of this data exchange development program between PSAPs and CSAA member companies to a new Third Party Call Center Group, which included the CSAA. On Jan. 4, 2005, APCO and the CSAA formally announced a partnership to develop an exchange that will be consistently used by CAD providers and CSAA member companies for PSAPs to increase efficiency and decrease errors. The first beta site selected to conduct tests between PSAPs and a CSAA member company over the Internet was York County (Va.) Department of Fire & Life Safety, Emergency Communications Division. Vector Security was selected as the CSAA member company to participate in Illinois Chapter Honors 27 Years of Service At the Illinois APCO Chapter s annual holiday meeting in December, Jerry Bleck, director of the Tri-Com Central Dispatch Center in St. Charles, Ill., was honored with a plaque for his 27 consecutive years of service on the Illinois Chapter s Executive Board. Bleck has been an active member since 1972 and served on the Illinois Chapter Executive Board from 1981 to Bleck plans to retire from Tri-Com in August 2009, having served at the comm center for nearly 40 years, 33 of which have been as director. the electronic alarm exchange. On Oct. 22, 2004, the first data template was successfully completed. The XML standard was used for this initiative. An Alerts Working Team was formed and met in Daytona Beach, Fla., in February 2006 to begin the External Alert 2.0 IEPD development. This working team was formed by the IJIS Public Safety Technical Standards Committee to create external alerts and requests-for-service IEPD using the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) standard. After a two-year development effort that included extensive testing, the Alarm Interface Exchange 2.0 between York County and Vector Security went live on July 15, The initial exchange included only burglar and hold up alarms. The exchange was conducted via Internet with all necessary security in place at Vector Security and York County. A Web service was implemented by GE Security, Vector Security s software provider. To protect the CAD system from vulnerability and exposure to the Internet, a middleware application was created to allow a server sitting on York County s demarcation zone (also known as the DMZ or demilitarized zone) to be responsible for all traffic between the CAD system and the alarm company. The average turnaround time from the time that the alarm company operator transmitted the alarm to the PSAP until the final accept or reject was 45 seconds. It is Vector s policy that its agents initiate a call to the w w w.a p c o i n t l.o r g B, A m a r c h 2009 B, A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS 23

4 dbulletinrcontinued from page 23 PSAP if no response is received within 45 seconds. Richmond s Police Division of Emergency Communications authorized a development partnership with York County, which included APCO and CSAA, because both localities were using the same CAD system. APCO and CSAA were anxious to collect as much data as possible surrounding the outcome of the alarm exchange interface and requested that Richmond participate in the pilot. The alarm interface exchange between Richmond and Vector Security went live on Aug. 4, The pilot program s initial phase was so successful that fire and medical alarms were added to the program on Oct. 24, 2006, for both PSAPs. On Sept. 11, 2007, Richmond implemented a new Intergraph CAD system. Intergraph was tasked with seamlessly continuing the alarm interface exchange and was successful. In spring 2007, discussions began with Nlets (the International Justice and Public Safety Network), APCO, the Virginia State Police and Vector Security to study the feasibility of routing all alarm interface exchange transactions via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) arrangement between Vector Security and Nlets. Nlets has all of the necessary security in place and a private circuit to each state including Virginia. All parties agreed to perform a proof of concept, and the necessary security and network address translation rules were put into place. On Nov. 27, 2007, all alarm interface exchange traffic between Vector Security and the two participating PSAPs began routing through Nlets and the Virginia switch. On Feb. 18, 2008, the External Alert 2.0 schema was implemented in Richmond, bringing the pilot to another milestone in achieving conformance with the GJXDM model. GE Security implemented an enhancement to streamline the delivery of alarm data to the Virginia PSAPs by eliminating their Web service and delivering all alarm event data to the PSAPs as a single message transaction. Because of the secure transmission path via Nlets and the Virginia switch, vulnerability and exposure to the Internet is no longer an issue. The middleware continues to facilitate traffic between the PSAPs and the alarm company, but no longer needs to reside on the DMZ. The new average turnaround time from alarm company operator transmitting the alarm to the PSAP to the final accept or reject is less than 15 seconds. The Public Safety Data Interoperability (PSDI) Project was initiated in early Funding was provided from a grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and the project is co-managed by IJIS and APCO. The project goal is to d silent key support and further the efforts of data interoperability for public safety, including comm centers, law enforcement, fire services and EMS. The project deliverables include: a master exchange list for local comm centers that examines all possible CAD data inputs and outputs (data exchanges), a user guide to information sharing for local comm centers and IEPD artifacts. The project s steering committee was so impressed with the success of the pilot alarm interface between Vector Security and the Virginia PSAPs that they gave the pilot the committee s highest priority toward the development of the IEPD and subsequent submission to APCO ANS process. The alarm interface pilot became the PSDI Remembering Will Little Wilfred Reese Little passed away at home on Oct. 28, 2008, with his family by his side. Little was engaged in a courageous and inspiring fight against blood cancer, a battle he undertook with noble humility and fortitude as part of his daily routine during the 28 months following his diagnosis. He never stopped working; found a champion in his cause against leukemia in Merry L. Tetef, MD; and continued conducting business and making calls and yet more friends until his passing. Little founded Informer Computer Systems and, with his unshakeable determination, love of people, discipline and goodwill, saw his technology company become a major player in the development of from the very beginning. In the early 70s, his company was instrumental in developing the ALI display box used in PSAPs throughout the country. He joined APCO in May 1996 as a commercial member of CPRA and was active both locally and nationally. Little not only attended several conferences over the years, but also served at the national level on the Member and Chapter Services Committee in Little was born to Raymond and Elizabeth Little in Pittsburgh, on April 17, He graduated from Mount Lebanon High School and went on to play football and box for the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating from Annapolis in 1951, Will honorably served his country in Korea, and finished active duty in He then settled in Los Angeles and later Orange County, where he commenced his storied career of 53 years in the electronics and public safety industries and saw the birth of Little developed and supported the technology behind One word captures Will s strong moral character and everlasting spirit: persistence. Little is survived by his wife, Laura; four sons, Brad, Chris, Greg and Robert; sister, Miriam; and 10 grandchildren. Bill Carrow, APCO first vice president knew Little for years, meeting when his agency beta tested a scheduling software product from Informer. Will was one of the nicest men you will ever meet, says Carrow. He represented his company and APCO in the highest regard, was well respected among his peers and is going to be sadly missed. 24 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS B, A m a r c h 2009 B, A w w w.a p c o i n t l.o r g

5 project s guinea pig. The PSDI steering committee s recommendation was approved by the BJA. IJIS released a request for proposal in June 2008 to seek a qualified firm to complete the IEPD and subsequently awarded a contract to Waterhole Software. The IEPD was completed in August 2008 and published by IJIS on Sept. 9, An IEPD contains all artifacts and complete documentation about an information exchange to provide everything a software developer must know to facilitate the application solution. The NIEM is a partnership of the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). NIEM is designed to develop, disseminate and support enterprise-wide information exchange standards and processes that can enable jurisdictions to effectively share critical information in emergency situations, as well as support the daily operations of agencies throughout the nation. NIEM builds on the demonstrated success of the GJXDM model. NIEM is the standard for all national initiatives. IJIS and the PSDI project are committed to the NIEM standard. IJIS maintains a full scale NIEM training program that is free to students. Grant funding from the DOJ and DHS for interoperability projects is provided only to those projects that result in conformance to NIEM. The External Alarm Interface Exchange project was submitted to the APCO ANS process as a candidate ANS on Sept. 12, After a considerable amount of preparation work by APCO staff to adapt the candidate to the correct ANSI application format, the candidate ANS was published by APCO on Nov. 7, 2008, in concert with the opening of the initial 45-day public comment period. On Jan. 16, 2009, the standard was approved by ANSI. Download the standard at commcenter911/apcostandards.php. pbill Hobgood is the Public Safety Team Project manager and Interim Application Solutions Division manager for the City of Richmond s Department of Information Technology. He serves as APCO s Data Transfer Committee chair, is a member of APCO s Telematics Committee and a steering committee member for the Public Safety Data Interoperability (PSDI) Project, and consults for York County, Va. He has 37 years of experience in the public safety sector. He is the recipient of APCO s 2007 Technologist of the Year Award and other awards. Contact him via at bill.hobgood@richmondgov.com. d Association news Attention All Members! The time has come to begin organizing the standing committees for Committee appointments coincide with the APCO fiscal year, which begins in July, and we must start the sign-up process now so there s adequate time to make appointments and allow committees to begin operating by July 1. No committee appointments or reappointments are automatic. All committee members and chairs will be selected from those who nominate themselves through the APCO Web site. How to sign up: You can volunteer for up to three committees by visiting and clicking the Committee Sign Up link on the left. Log in using your address and APCO Web site password. All committee selections must be completed online by April 15. When you sign up, you ll receive an automated acknowledgment that your request has been submitted. Later, you ll receive notification indicating final committee selections. If you encounter any difficulties, contact APCO Headquarters at 888/ We need you: The standing committees are integral to our association s activities. They directly help us meet our goals and fulfill our mission. They also provide a unique opportunity to serve our fellow members and the public safety communications community as a whole. Study the list, determine where you can contribute, make a commitment to serve and sign up. We ll try to assign people who can best handle the responsibilities and work involved, and we re always interested in giving an opportunity to serve to members who haven t yet served on a committee and who are interested in working on national issues. Thank you for your interest in serving APCO. pchris Fischer, APCO President Scholarship Ops Applications are currently being accepted for the Silent Key and Commercial Advisory Committee Scholarship Award programs. The deadline is May 1, and award notifications will be made by July 1. The following corporate sponsors and individuals have contributed to the Silent Key and CAC scholarship funds, furthering the educational opportunities for public safety communications personnel. CAC Scholarship donors: Northrop Grumman, Jack Daniel Company, BearingPoint Inc., OnStar, CTA Communications, Bird Technologies, Tait Radio Communications, Public Safety Group and Intrado. Silent Key Scholarship donors: Iridium Satellite, Terry Tuck and Gary Williams. APCO would like to thank all of our donors. Their generous contributions assist in providing a means to promote the professional development of our future leaders. pdownload an application at com/institute/forms_information.htm or contact the APCO Institute at 888/ Nomination Deadline Approaching for Horizon Award The Horizon Award is awarded annually to a comm center that deserves recognition for proactively seeking solutions to manage the introduction of technological advancements into its center and community over the last year. Horizon Awad winners have proactively evaluated and met the technological and operational needs of their centers, employees and service population. APCO wants to recognize these agencies and needs your help. Nominations are being accepted for the prestigious 2009 APCO Horizon Award, and the deadline to submit a nomination is April 1. The grand-prize winner will be honored at the 2009 Annual APCO Inter national Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas.,PSC, pdownload, complete and submit a nomination form at For additional questions or to obtain more information, 911services@apco911.org. w w w.a p c o i n t l.o r g B, A m a r c h 2009 B, A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS 25