The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International has joined other major public safety organizations, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA), to address the concerns surrounding the growing availability of consumer products and services that send calls for service directly to ECCs.
ECCs nationwide already contend with escalating workloads and critical staffing deficits. Without proper vetting by a qualified intermediary, direct to ECC (D2ECC) products and services will further strain public safety resources. The technology providers making these D2ECC services and applications must understand that any services that introduce alarm notifications must be properly vetted before transmission to ECCs. Unverified D2ECC applications will place an undue burden on public safety telecommunicators.
“Standards and best practices for verifying alarm notifications can significantly reduce the burden on public safety telecommunicators,” explained Mel Maier, CEO and executive director, APCO International. “It is imperative that only true emergencies reach ECCs as calls for service — leaving telecommunicators to better serve their communities.”
It’s essential for the public safety community and the alarm notification industry to come together to mitigate the growing risks of D2ECC applications. APCO, IAFC, IACP and NSA have long worked with The Monitoring Association (TMA) and the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) to promote best practices that reduce the transmission of false alarms to ECCs. We recommend that all providers of calls for service to ECCs work with the public safety community and TMA along with AICC to adopt practices that properly vet alarm notifications before transmission to ECCs.
APCO will continue to monitor this issue and work towards a solution. Visit https://www.apcointl.org/technology/interoperability/asap-to-psap/ to learn more.
APCO International® (www.apcointl.org)
APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide – and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.
