Highland Park, Texas Goes Live with the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP)

PITTSBURGH, May 9, 2017 – The Town of Highland Park, Texas, became the 22nd public-safety answering point (PSAP) in the United States and the fifth PSAP in Texas to join the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) program, a technology that automates communication between alarm monitoring central stations and 9-1-1 centers, resulting in improved accuracy and speed of emergency response. Highland Park went live with Vector Security on April 19, 2017. Within hours, other alarm monitoring companies also went live with Highland Park, including Affiliated Monitoring, Central Security, Guardian Protection Services, Monitronics, Protection One, Rapid Response, and Vivint.

ASAP was created in partnership with The Monitoring Association (then the Central Station Alarm Association or CSAA) and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), with Vector Security President and CEO Pam Petrow co-chairing the steering committee. Vector Security was the first alarm company to use ASAP in the City of Richmond, Virginia, in 2012. The ASAP program is designed to eliminate telephone calls, mistakes and miscommunication between alarm monitoring companies and 9-1-1 PSAPs and has effectively reduced 9-1-1 processing time, enabling a faster response time by public safety.

“As a security provider, we actively seek ways to promote ASAP’s value to municipalities and public agencies, and help other alarm companies implement it for the greater good of the industry and the safety of our communities,” Ms. Petrow added.

The implementation at Highland Park represents another milestone for the ASAP program, with Tyler Technologies becoming the newest CAD provider to implement an ASAP interface solution. The solution is now offered for Tyler’s New World Enterprise CAD product line. Former Highland Park Chief Chris Vinson, who passed away unexpectedly in June 2015, was a proponent of law enforcement priority responses to verified alarms. He met with New World Systems prior to its acquisition by Tyler Technologies to gain support for Highland Park’s becoming the first New World ASAP interface deployment site to facilitate the rapid delivery of alarm notifications from alarm monitoring companies without the use of a telephone call.

"In an emergency, time is critical," said Greg Sebastian, president of Tyler's Public Safety Division. "With the ASAP program, call processing time is reduced, inaccuracies in alarm and location information are minimized, and 9-1-1 call takers stay available to answer emergency calls for service. We’re pleased the ASAP functionality in Tyler’s New World Enterprise CAD solution helps public safety personnel provide a rapid response to the residents of Highland Park.”

“Highland Park Department of Public Safety strives to provide the best in public safety service,” said Chief Paul Sandman, Assistant Director of Public Safety. “We continuously work toward leveraging technology in order to improve our response times for police, fire and EMS emergencies.  Our new ASAP solution allows alarm integration that increases the alarm communication speed to our communications center. The ASAP solution also frees our communications specialists to handle other incoming emergency phone calls.”

According to Bill Hobgood, nationally recognized ASAP program expert and a public safety IT project manager for the City of Richmond, Virginia, said, “The Highland Park ASAP implementation is a tribute to Chief Vinson’s vision and passion in the pursuit of technology for the benefit of law enforcement and increased citizen satisfaction. Hobgood added, “Tyler Technologies made good on that promise and fulfilled Chief Vinson’s vision. The job is done in his honor. Congratulations to both Highland Park and Tyler Technologies.”

The ASAP program is based on an American National Standard developed jointly by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) now known as The Monitoring Association. The program provides a standardized method through the use of automation and the power of Nlets to deliver alarm notifications to 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points. As a result, there is an increase in the likelihood of increased law enforcement apprehensions for crimes in-progress, fires quickly extinguished with minimal property damage, and could mean a life saver for a medical emergency patient when every second counts.

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, including those listed by a TMA-approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as FM Global, Intertek/ETL or UL. Incorporated in 1950, TMA is legally entitled to represent its members before Congress and regulatory agencies on the local, state and federal levels, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) over the industry. TMA’s mission is to advance the professional monitoring industry through education, advocacy, and public safety relationships. www.tma.us. For more information, contact Elizabeth Lasko at TMA, 703-242-4670 x 16.

About Tyler Technologies, Inc.
Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) is a leading provider of end-to-end information management solutions and services for local governments. Tyler partners with clients to empower the public sector - cities, counties, schools and other government entities - to become more efficient, more accessible and more responsive to the needs of their constituents. Tyler's client base includes more than 15,000 local government offices in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and other international locations. In 2016, Forbes ranked Tyler on its "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list, and it has also named Tyler one of "America's Best Small Companies" eight times. The company has been included six times on the Barron's 400 Index, a measure of the most promising companies in America. More information about Tyler Technologies, headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at www.tylertech.com.

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