Minnesota County Is Still Reaping Huge Benefits from ASAP Service

  • May 01, 2025

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that Anoka County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) has dramatically reduced the amount of time that 911 telecommunicators spend on calls generated by alarm and sensor systems as a result of implementing TMA's ASAP Service. The solution leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), which was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).

"Our latest data shows that ASAP Service is saving our telecommunicators an average of 30 hours each month," said Kari Morrissey, Anoka County's director of emergency communications.

Anoka County ECC has handled 911 and nonemergency calls for service, and has dispatched the appropriate emergency response, since 1974. ECC officials sought a way to lessen the impact of alarm- and sensor-generated calls for a variety of reasons. One is that the 911 community has been suffering from an acute staffing shortage for several years — it is estimated that 77 percent of ECCs nationwide are understaffed.

Another reason for the ECC to address the high volume of alarm-and sensor-generated calls that it was receiving is that the role of 911 telecommunicators is inherently stressful and such calls exacerbate that stress. ECCs nationwide field about 240 million calls for emergency service annually and most of them involve life-and-death situations. Consequently, it is estimated that 25 to 44 percent of telecommunicators have experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at some point in their careers.

Arguably the most important reason, however, is that the legacy approach to handling alarm- and sensor-generated calls is time-consuming and prone to human error on several levels. Both outcomes are highly detrimental to the ability of emergency responders to save lives.

Traditionally, alarm- and sensor-generated alerts have been delivered to ECCs via telephone. Each one requires 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 ECC to dispatch the appropriate emergency response.

ASAP Service eliminates these inefficiencies by automating the alarm-notification process and directly integrating with an ECC's computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) system. The platform electronically transmits alarm and sensor data directly into the CAD system, reducing response times by up to two minutes. Further, the automation that ASAP Service provides also reduces administrative call load significantly, freeing telecommunicators to prioritize 911 calls that require their unique skills and expertise.

Anoka County ECC implemented ASAP Service in 2020. Today, about 36 percent of the alarm- and sensor-generated calls that reach the center do so via ASAP Service.

Consequently, the human errors that plagued the legacy approach to handling alarm- and sensor-generated calls have been reduced dramatically because verbal information-sharing for such calls has been eliminated, as has manual data entry into the CAD system. Further, the platform provides pre-verified addresses, eliminating transcription and geographical errors that can delay emergency responses.

Featured

  • Report Reveals Security Training Reduces Global Phishing Click Rates by 86%

    KnowBe4, the cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management, today launched its “Phishing by Industry Benchmarking Report 2025” which measures an organization’s Phish-prone Percentage (PPP) — the percentage of employees likely to fall for social engineering or phishing attacks, indicating the organization’s overall susceptibility to phishing threats. This year’s report found a global average baseline PPP of 33.1%, meaning a third of employees interact with phishing simulations before taking part in best-practice security awareness training (SAT).COVER 2025-PIB-NA-Report_EN-US Read Now

  • TSA Begins REAL ID Full Enforcement Today

    Today, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the imminent implementation of its REAL ID enforcement measures at TSA checkpoints nationwide. Read Now

  • Body-Worn Cameras on the Rise

    On the evening of Oct. 29, 2024, the owner of 300 Guard based in Houston, was shot while on duty at a convenience store. He returned fire. He was wearing a plated vest and thankfully recovered in the hospital. Read Now

  • Brazil Port Enhances Surveillance and Supports Wildlife Conservation with Sustainable Technology

    Ferroport, which operates the iron ore terminal at the Port of Açu in São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has deployed state-of-the-art video surveillance cameras from Axis Communications to enhance nighttime security and visibility, while decreasing environmental impact and prioritizing sustainability. With cutting-edge technology, the port now has precise surveillance cameras that capture high-quality nighttime images, while reducing the amount of artificial lighting that negatively impacts the surrounding ecosystem. Read Now

  • Fast-Forward from 1,000 B.C.E. to Today

    The lock and key have been around since time immemorial. In fact, the locksmith profession is one of the oldest in the world when you consider the earliest wooden tumbler lock debuted three-plus millennia ago. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.