COPS TEAM UP IN SECURITY FIRM LAPD OFFICERS SELL SOFTWARE FOR CRISIS NEED.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - They carry a badge - and a laptop.

In their day jobs, Chate Asvanonda and Brian Hagerty suit up in the blue uniform of the Los Angeles Police Department. During their spare time, they work to make that day job easier. Drawing on their police experience, they've helped develop Asvaco, security assessment software geared to help businesses and first responders better manage crisis situations.

``We used to shut the hood of a black-and-white and hope there was some dust on it so we could draw a map and some stick figures to tell us where to go,'' said Asvanonda, a sergeant in the Rampart Division with 19 years of service. ``This makes it so we don't have to do that anymore.''

The pair works for Thousand Oaks-based Idealsoft Inc., a software programmer that hopes to make inroads into the booming homeland security industry. Under their direction, Idealsoft took the tactical expertise gained from dealing with tense field situations and engineered a program to strip out the essential details and make them available to security personnel. With fears of terrorism keeping businesses interested in keeping their facilities safe, Idealsoft's been running hard to keep up with demand.

``We're overwhelmed by the feedback we've been getting,'' said Marie Chan-Gove, Idealsoft's president and chief executive officer. ``It's one of the hottest issues right now, so we're getting a lot of attention.''

Though safety usually ranks high on businesses' concerns, Bob Cohen, director of business development for Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations' western region, said interest has run especially hot in the last year. And though tight economic times generally lead firms to slash their security budgets, he's seen them remain untouched as nervous executives fret over their buildings, employees and inventories.

``There is a concern for security that exists right now, particularly in larger buildings and public organizations,'' Cohen said. ``Even at retail, we're seeing greater interest in it. It's an ongoing issue and it's a large market with billions of dollars in it. People are looking for solutions.''

Idealsoft declined to discuss its client list, citing confidentiality agreements, but says Asvaco currently oversees a major port. Asvanonda and Hagerty, an eight-year police veteran, are also in talks with a top defense contractor, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the LAPD.

``In the `92 riots, threat assessment would have been a huge help,'' Asvanonda said. ``It would have been nice to know where all the gun shops were, the pawnshops, the banks. And in the `94 quake, we needed to know where the trauma was and which hospitals were online.''

The software, available since the beginning of the year, examines a building's makeup and determines weak spots, escape routes, decontamination sites and the like. Users work through a series of detailed questions, listing everything from the building's color to whether its fences stand tall enough to conceal hidden shooters. When complete, it prepares a report detailing how to ``harden the target,'' in Asvanonda's words, through the posting of guards and sensors. The report can then be used for internal planning for disaster response, then filed with local law enforcement and fire agencies. It also boasts other features such as an automated call system to security offices for after-hours breaches or mass notifications, calling numbers across a neighborhood for a police alert.

The program sprang from a casual conversation between Asvanonda, who also holds the title of the firm's chief operating officer, and his cousin, Chan-Gove in 1998. She'd just launched Idealsoft with the intent of putting her engineering skills to work writing call center phone management software, but he persuaded her to take up the project as a challenge. Her small staff began working with Asvanonda and Hagerty to see which tools would prove most useful in the field, eventually developing a rough version of the program last year.

``We've combined the time it takes field personnel to assess the site and come back and type up a document to describe it,'' said Hagerty, a former military policeman and an officer with the LAPD's elite urban response Metropolitan Division. ``This saves hundreds of hours of time and hundreds of thousands of dollars.''

The software costs thousands of dollars, as well - $990 for the assessment engine, $1,490 for the scriptwriter that recommends specific steps to correct problems. Though the privately held Idealsoft does not report sales, it's rung up enough copies to be breaking ground next month for an 8,000-square-foot headquarters in Thousand Oaks.

High-profile collaborators have helped fuel the growth, as well. An alliance with homeland security consultants Autodesk Inc. helped spread the firm's name. Currently, Hagerty and Asvanonda are in talks with Jane's Information Group to provide the military and security specialists' data through Asvaco. If signed, the agreement would give the software access to Jane's influential school security publications.

``In California, you've got to worry about earthquakes and someone going crazy and doing something stupid on campus,'' said Robert Petty, director of public safety sales for the Alexandria, Va.-based Jane's. ``There's a lot of smart people who know about that, but they don't always come together in one place. We bring them together.''

The school package provides a three-pronged take on assessment, a proactive tutorial on how to head off potential threats, a reactive summary of how to handle a crisis and post-event counseling. When approached by the two cops-cum-businessmen, Petty found their unique knowledge of security unusual and refreshing.

``They're not like normal businessmen,'' he said. ``But this is not a normal business. I have three kids, so I know the stakes are a little bit higher.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Chate Asvanonda, left, and Brian Hagerty of Idealsoft Inc. have development threat assessment software to help companies develop disaster contingency plans. The two are also Los Angeles police officers.

(2) Buyers of Idealsoft software can enter specifics and the computer will show danger spots or suggest changes.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer