Unified Computer Aided Dispatch (UCAD) Project

A number of technical systems are used to support law enforcement, fire, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) telecommunicators and responders. Yet governmental agencies that fund and guide technology standards and other key IT initiatives have rarely coordinated or aligned their efforts to maximize national adoption and cost effectiveness. Disparate technology standards and specifications across communities that have similar and, in many cases, overlapping requirements, result in unnecessary duplication of efforts, at a high cost to taxpayers.

The initial report Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems was developed and published in 2006 by the Law Enforcement Information Technology Standards Council (LEITSC) in partnership with the IJIS Institute. That document limited its scope to functional specifications for CAD systems required by law enforcement. Subsequent to that document, it was decided to add fire and EMS functionality to the existing functional specifications for law enforcement CAD systems. The new specifications are called Unified CAD Functional Requirements (UCADFR). There are many compelling reasons why fire and EMS specifications are being added:

  1. The majority of local emergency communication centers dispatch for multiple first responder services – a combination of law enforcement, fire and EMS. Practitioners writing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for CAD systems to support these multi-service centers need access to a unified CAD specification.
  2. As municipalities and jurisdictions seek to consolidate their communications centers, facilities and technologies, more and more centers are using unified CAD systems that serve law enforcement, fire and EMS for single and multiple jurisdictions. The transition of this document from an exclusively law enforcement CAD standard reflects this change in the public safety operational environment, and should greatly help to plan and implement those multi-service communication centers.
  3. Including fire and EMS CAD standards, as well as updating the generic standards of the existing document, is in keeping with current best practices in the broader public safety discipline.
  4. A large percentage of the new functions identified in the Revision Assessment apply to law enforcement, as well as fire and EMS. These functions were added to the UCAD specification to make it current with respect to law enforcement needs.
  5. The multi-service CAD functional specification will serve as a guideline to industry for the development and implementation of integrated CAD systems that are responsive to the needs of law enforcement, fire, and EMS.

Current Program Efforts

  • Finalize and publish the Unified Computer Aided Dispatch Functional Requirements (UCADFR) document
  • Transform the new UCADFR into a standard via the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) American National Standards (ANS) process
  • Support questions about the UCADFR via the National Information Sharing Standards (NISS) Help Desk
  • Finalize and publish the Information Sharing Needs for Public Safety's First Responder Community document

Completed Efforts

  • Wrote and vetted UCADFR
  • Wrote and vetted the Information Sharing Needs for Public Safety's First Responder Community

Sponsors (Current and Past Efforts)