The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the Tampa (Florida) Police Department (TPD) recently implemented its ASAP Service to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor-generated calls that its 911 Communications Center receives.
TAMPA, Fla., April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the Tampa (Florida) Police Department (TPD) recently implemented its ASAP Service to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor-generated calls that its 911 Communications Center receives. The solution leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), which was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
Each year, the center handles about 300,000 calls for emergency service and dispatches the appropriate police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical response. Roughly 20,000 of these calls are generated by alarms and sensors. The center is the 150th 911 center nationwide and the 12th in Florida to implement ASAP Service.
Traditionally, alarm/sensor-generated alerts have been delivered to 911 centers via telephone. Each one required manual interaction between alarm-monitoring-center personnel and 911 telecommunicators. Sometimes it takes as many as five voice calls to deliver the information needed by the 911 center to dispatch the appropriate emergency response. This approach is time-consuming and prone to human error — both outcomes are highly detrimental to the ability of emergency responders to save lives and property.
ASAP Service eliminates these challenges by electronically transmitting alarm and sensor data directly into the 911 center's computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) system, reducing response times by two minutes on average and freeing telecommunicators to prioritize 911 calls that require their unique skills and expertise.
"The Tampa Police Department aims to serve our community in the most effective way possible, and technology plays a crucial role in achieving that goal," said Chief Lee Bercaw. "We are constantly seeking out and integrating innovative tools that empower officers to respond to community needs with greater efficiency, precision, and ultimately, increased effectiveness. This proactive approach ensures we are able to provide the best possible service and improve safety in our community."
According to Mike Terracciano, public-safety-technology manager for the city of Tampa's Technology and Innovation department, telecommunicators are trained to ask only those questions that will enable them to quickly determine the best response to the emergency. As a result, useful information that the alarm company possesses for each of its clients typically went untapped.
"Now, with ASAP Service, that supplemental information — which might ring important from a responder-safety perspective — is readily available and easily accessed," Terracciano said.
Learn more about how TMA's ASAP Service is saving lives every day nationwide at www.ASAP911.org.
About Tampa 911 Communications Center
The 911 Communications Center receives requests for emergency and nonemergency services from the public and various city agencies. The center's primary mission is to provide effective and efficient communication between citizens requesting police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical service and the units that respond. It also endeavors to expeditiously provide various other support services for police, fire, and administrative operations.
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
Alex Oltmanns, Pipitone, 1 412-321-0879, [email protected]
SOURCE The Monitoring Association
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