The Monitoring Association (formerly Central Station Alarm Association) News

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce the recent appointment of James Marcella to the Chairmanship of its Government Relations Committee. In this important role, James Marcella will lead The Monitoring Association’s state and local advocacy efforts, and often partner with the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) on legislative initiatives. TMA appoints new Government Relations Committee Chair James has been a valued member and volunteer within the TMA communi...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) seeks professionals from the security industry; public safety; emergency communications; schools; systems manufacturers; and others from large public/private management to participate in the development of its newly proposed ANSI standard – Monitoring Center Notification of Active Threat Detection (TMA-ATN-01). Standardised workflow As monitoring centres are increasingly monitoring shot detection, weapons detection, and manual lockdown notification system...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) Standards Committee has received confirmation that its TMA-AVS-01 Alarm Validation Standard has received official ANSI accreditation. Initiated in 2020, the standard provides a method of creating an alarm scoring or classification metric for unauthorised human activity detected by alarm systems. The alarm scoring will assist law enforcement with resource allocation and Call-for-Service prioritisation. Game-changing standard “I am extremely proud of the C...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce the recent appointment of David Morgan to the volunteer position of co-chair for its Marketing and Communications Committee. A longtime TMA member and volunteer contributor, Morgan is co-founder of SD Marketing, a California-based marketing firm. Morgan joins sitting Co-chair Jake Voll in the leadership of the Committee. Advance professional monitoring “It is an honour and privilege to serve as co-chair for the TMA Marketing and C...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) welcomed its 119th Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in the United States and its first agency in the state of California to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). The state of California became the 22nd state in the United States to participate in the ASAP programme.  Launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, TMA’s ASAP service is designed to increase the accuracy and efficiency of calls for service from alarm companies to...

The Monitoring Association’s (TMA) President - Morgan Hertel honoured two of TMA’s long-serving volunteer members with the Mel Mahler Award, formerly known as the President’s Award on Mon., Oct. 31st during its General Business Meeting at the 2022 Annual Meeting on Marco Island, FL.  The Mel Mahler Award is presented at the discretion of the TMA president in recognition of outstanding contributions within his/her tenure. The 2022 Mel Mahler Award recipients are Anita Ostr...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announces the addition of a virtual registration option for its upcoming 2022 Annual Meeting, which will be held in-person at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, Oct. 29-Nov. 2nd, 2022. The virtual registration The virtual registration rate for TMA members, as well as non-members, is $950.00. Recordings of the sessions will be made available for streaming for a period of six months. Interested individuals can go to the website for detailed meeting infor...

The Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR), an organisation established to promote the value of verification and validation of alarm events during the emergency response process, has engaged The Monitoring Association (TMA) as an independent contractor to provide administrative, clerical, accounting and other business services. PPVAR will maintain its independence as a 501 C (6) organisation and its Board of Directors, Executive Director and membership will continue to operate...

Security industry professionals have the option to register to take part virtually in The Monitoring Association’s (TMA) 2022 OPSTech educational sessions that are being delivered in-person Sept. 11-16, 2022 in Charlotte, NC. The full, five-day programme features operations, technology and video tracks. Registrants attending the meeting in-person will also have the opportunity to take part in roundtable discussions and networking events, as well as a private tour of CPI Security’s n...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced that it has welcomed two new USA-based PSAP/Emergency Communication Centres (ECC) to its ASAP-to-PSAP service in mid-August 2022. The Fort Worth, TX and the Irving PD, TX Emergency Communications Centres (ECC) are the 112th and 113th public safety communications centres, respectively, in the United States of America (USA) and the 13th and 14th agencies in the US state of Texas to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). The Monitoring Ass...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announces that Rob Raisch, Chief Architect, Monitoring Integration, SimpliSafe, Inc., will deliver the keynote address for the Technology track of TMA’s 2022 OPSTech on Thurs., September 15th at 9:00 am ET. He will discuss emerging trends in the market including general best practices and some of the work SimpliSafe has been doing in the area. Authority comment “The primary goal of TMA’s OPSTech meeting is to provide frontline monitoring cent...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) welcomed its 111th ECC in the United States on Monday, July 25, 2022. The New Hanover County ECC in North Carolina became the 12th ECC in the state of North Carolina to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Public-private partnership The New Hanover County ECC went live with Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, Securitas, ADS, United Central Control, Brinks Home Security, Af...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce acclaimed global futurist, speaker, and best-selling author Jack Uldrich will deliver the keynote address at its 2022 Annual Meeting on Monday, October 31, 2022, at 11:00 AM ET. The meeting will take place in person at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, October 29-November 2, 2022.   Inspire, energise, and enlighten “As business leaders, what could be more valuable than to have access to the insights of someone wh...

The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), a Committee of The Monitoring Association (TMA) comprised of representatives of TMA, the Electronic Security Association (ESA), the Security Industry Association (SIA) and major security industry alarm companies and manufacturers, has appointed Tiffany Galarza, the Director of Telecommunications at ADT, and Sascha Kylau, the Vice President at OneTel Security, to Co-Chair the Committee. New AICC Co-Chairs appointed Tiffany Galarza and Sascha K...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) welcomed its 110th ECC in the United States on June 22nd. The City of Rockwall ECC in Texas, servicing the Cities of Rockwall, Fate, and Heath, became the 12th ECC in the state of Texas to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). The Rockwall ECC went live with Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Security Central, Alert360, Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, United Central Control, National Monitoring Center, Bri...

Orion Entrance Control (Orion) is pleased to announce that Paul Ragusa has joined the company as Marketing Manager. Prior to joining Orion, Paul honed his marketing and writing skills, working for more than 25 years in management roles at several publishing, media and marketing companies, including most recently as Editor of Security Systems News (SSN). During his six-plus years at SSN, Paul Ragusa oversaw all content for the publication and website, in addition to creating the education progra...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) welcomed three new U.S.-based PSAP/Emergency Communication Centers (ECC) to its ASAP-to-PSAP service in early May. The City of Bloomington, MN; Dakota County, MN; and Rice-Steele Counties, MN respectively became the 105th, 106th, and 107th Emergency Communications Centers in the United States and the 3rd, 4th and 5th agencies in the state of Minnesota to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP-to-PSAP). Public-private partnership The City of Bloomi...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) Standards Committee has opened a Preliminary Technical Review Period for its TMA‐AVS‐01 Alarm Validation Standard. Initiated in 2020, the standard provides a method of creating an alarm scoring or classification metric for unauthorised human activity detected by alarm systems that will assist law enforcement with resource allocation and Call‐for‐Service prioritisation. Purpose of the review The purpose of this optional review process is to allow interested sta...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) Standards Committee has opened a Preliminary Technical Review Period for its TMA-AVS-01 Alarm Validation Standard. Initiated in 2020, the standard provides a method of creating an alarm scoring or classification metric for unauthorised human activity detected by alarm systems that will assist law enforcement with resource allocation and Call-for-Service prioritisation. Purpose of the review The purpose of this optional review process is to allow interested sta...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce Brian Allen, Esq., CPP, CFE, CISM, CISSP, CRISC, will deliver the keynote address, Digital Innovation and Transformation of the Security Industry,’ at its 2022 Virtual Mid-Year Meeting at 11:00 AM/ET on Tuesday, April 26th. Transforming security industry  Digitalization, interconnectivity, and smart automation have ushered in The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Mr. Allen will address how the security industry is transforming as t...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) has welcomed six new local PSAPs/Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs) from across the United States to its ASAP-to-PSAP service since December 20, 2021. These include; Albemarle County-UVA-City of Charlottesville VA;  Thurston County WA 9-1-1 Communications (WA); Talladega County Alabama 9-1-1; Valley Communications Regional 9-1-1 Center (WA); City of Colonial Heights VA Emergency Communications Center (ECC) (VA); and Elk County Pennsylvania Emergency Ser...

The Monitoring Association (TMA) invites security and monitoring centre professionals to attend its upcoming Virtual Town Hall, Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 12:00PM ET on standards. The 60-minute event is set to provide a high-level introduction to security industry standards, which are developed in accordance to global ANSI accreditations; insights into standards use from UL; and, an update on the latest TMA standards, as well as others impacting security and monitoring service providers. M...

DMP releases its new line of alarm communication radios that are FirstNet Ready™ and approved for use on FirstNet®. FirstNet is built with AT&T in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority and is the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose-built specifically for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community. It’s the solution to decades-long interoperability and communica...

Digital Monitoring Products (DMP) is releasing a line of FirstNet-certified and compatible alarm communication radios that will work directly with AT&T FirstNet. With the new communicator, DMP XR and XT Series panels are the first to be available for use on FirstNet. FirstNet is the nationwide wireless public safety broadband network that has been established by the Federal Communications Commission, which hired AT&T to deploy it with $40 billion of planned investment. Previously, first...

There is a growing trend towards more outsourcing of the monitoring function among security companies. Technology developments are accelerating and increasing the need for monitoring companies to invest. The barriers to entry are higher than ever. These are some of the trends covered in a discussion at Securing New Ground 2019 titled ‘Monitoring: New Models and New Monetisation Strategies’. A panel of monitoring company executives addressed topics centered on how the industry is cha...

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has released the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved ANSI/​SIA CP-01-2019, a security systems standard for false alarm reduction features. The standard leverages technology, industry experience and common knowledge to pinpoint the causes of and decrease the frequency of false alarm dispatches, detailing recommended design features applicable to both residential and commercial properties protected by electronic security systems. The 2019...

The Electronic Security Expo (ESX) sought to redefine the traditional purpose of industry shows within the electronic security and life safety channel. On June 3-6, ESX 2019 offered an outlet for professionals to come together in a collaborative environment — and it was a hit for many looking for a more modern take on the traditional “badge scan” expo, according to the organisers. Networking and connections Throughout the two expo days of the event, 78% of attendees reported...

Tim Eckersley has provided consistent support to the PASS and the National School Boards Association Allegion Senior Vice President and President of the Americas Tim Eckersley was honoured with the Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award at The Security Industry Association (SIA) Honors Night during ISC East in New York. Eckersley has been a consistent advocate for SIA’s school security initiatives and for increasing industry collaboration with the K-12 school commun...

Angela White was sworn in as President-elect of ESA at the ESX show in June and will take office July 1 The Electronic Security Association (ESA) wrapped up its annual ESX conference June 8-10 at a new location in Fort Worth, Texas, with keynote speakers, educational sessions, networking events, exhibitions, awards and the installation of new officers. Logging its ninth year, ESX is jointly owned and sponsored by ESA and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA). This year&...

Improved alarm verification standards will help reduce the number of false dispatches of law enforcement officers The verification of alarms continues to progress with more affordable technology as well as an updated industry standard set for release as soon as the end of February 2016. The definition of alarm verification is getting a makeover in the standard, guided by a range of stakeholders including the security industry, law enforcement, associations and other intereste...