The City of Riverside, California's Emergency Communications Center (ECC) saved over 33 hours per month in 2024 by using The Monitoring Association's (TMA) ASAP Service to process 12,231 alarm notifications. By automating the delivery of alarm details directly to the ECC's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, the service eliminated the need for multiple manual phone calls, saving an average of two minutes per call. This efficiency allowed telecommunicators to focus more on priority 911 emergencies, especially during high call volumes. TMA's ASAP Service, developed in partnership with APCO, enhances emergency response accuracy and efficiency by leveraging automated protocols and alarm verification scoring standards.
MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the City of Riverside, California's Emergency Communications Center (ECC) has saved an estimated 24,462 minutes—over 33 hours a month—in 2024 alone by using TMA's ASAP Service to process alarm and sensor notifications.
The estimate is based on an average savings of two minutes per call for 12,231 alarm notifications processed via ASAP Service in 2024, bypassing the traditional multiple voice calls required to gather dispatch and response details.
"The streamlined call-handling enabled our telecommunicators to focus more on priority 911 emergencies, which was especially beneficial during periods of high call volume," Brandt said. "ASAP Service has been a valuable tool for our center, and I'm surprised that more agencies haven't adopted it."
Riverside's ECC handles emergency calls and dispatches police, fire/rescue, and emergency medical response. In 2024, the center handled more than 756,000 calls for service. Given the large call volume, ECC officials sought a way to mitigate the impact of alarm/sensor notifications, which can require as many as five voice calls between an ECC's telecommunicator and alarm monitoring center personnel to gather the necessary information for dispatching the appropriate response.
Consequently, the ECC implemented ASAP Service in 2023, for law enforcement-related alarm notifications, and the results have been eye-opening, according to Michelle Brandt, the city's police/fire communications manager. In 2024, 12,231 alarm notifications were delivered directly to the center's CAD system via the ASAP Service, dramatically reducing the number of manual phone calls between telecommunicators and alarm-monitoring center personnel.
ASAP Service was developed by TMA to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor notifications that typically enter an ECC over nonemergency administrative telephone lines. With ASAP Service in place, those notifications are automatically delivered to the ECC's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, providing all the information needed by ECC's telecommunicators to dispatch the appropriate emergency response.
This saves approximately two minutes per call on average, a significant amount of time during emergencies when lives are at stake and every second counts.
ASAP Service leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). The protocol was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). ASAP Service also leverages the Alarm Verification Scoring standard (ANSI/TMA AVS-01), which identifies five scoring levels to help telecommunicators prioritize the severity of an alarm/sensor notification.
Learn more about how TMA's ASAP Service is saving lives every day nationwide at www.ASAP911.org.
About The Monitoring Association
The Monitoring Association (TMA), formerly the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), is an internationally recognized non-profit trade association that represents professional monitoring companies, security systems integrators, and providers of products and services to the industry. Incorporated in 1950, TMA represents its members before Congress and regulatory agencies on the local, state and federal levels, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) over the industry. Learn more online at https://tma.us/about-tma/.
About TMA's ASAP Service
Launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, TMA's Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) service allows for the direct electronic dispatch of first responder calls for service from alarm companies to PSAPs and ECCs. Increasing the accuracy and efficiency of dispatches, the ASAP service utilizes ANSI standard protocols developed cooperatively by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and The Monitoring Association (TMA).
Media Contact
Caroline Constantine, The Monitoring Association, 1 4342517580, [email protected], https://tma.us/
SOURCE The Monitoring Association
Share this article