According to Merriam- Webster, the word “Village” is defined as “an incorporated minor municipality,” but there is nothing “minor” about the Village of Oak Lawn, Illinois. The southwestern Chicago suburb is bustling with diverse businesses, arts, and culture while maintaining a rural “home-town” feel for its 56,000 residents.
The Village, named after the black oak trees that lined the now 95th street, was originally called Black Oaks until 1881 when the Wabash Railroad created a passenger station dubbed “Oak Lawn.” Since then the Village of Oak Lawn has grown into the flourishing municipality it is today, celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2009.
Geographic Technologies Group has been working with the Village of Oak Lawn Police Department, implementing GTG’s full public safety suite of software. The Village’s Police Department is committed to the reduction of crime, the perception of crime, and safety of its citizens. They are working alongside citizens with a community oriented policing focus. With the new software upgrade, the connection between the citizens and the Police Department has strengthened, thus providing residents with more engagement opportunities and peace of mind.
The Village’s Police Department is currently leveraging OSSI’s OneSolution for records management. GTG paired the Records Management System (RMS) with the Vantage Points Public Safety Software Suite. This upgrade, which includes Vantage Points Dispatch, Automated Vehicle Location (AVL), Public Safety Analyst (PSA), 360 Dashboard, and Mobile, is a major advancement for the Police Department staff, enabling a safer environment for the Village’s residents. Armed with the intuitive suite of software, the Police staff can retrieve critical data in real time and with more mobility than ever before. Vantage Points PSA gives users an extensive set of tools including incident analysis, predictive analysis, and crime sequencing. Social media mapping through the PSA tool gives analysts insight into valuable information within a geographic area. The Vantage Points SMART software gives responders the ability to see service calls, view AVL data, and call up parcel information – all while out in the field. With this information at their fingertips, Police staff can respond to emergency situations more quickly and efficiently.
“Vantage Points is really straightforward with an easy-to-use interface,” Richard Bessette, Information Technology Specialist of the Village, noted during their recent software training. “I usually hear clients comment on the ease of use with the Vantage Points software,” Julio Garrido, GTG’s Senior Applications Specialist commented, “The Village of Oak Lawn was enthusiastic about all the upgrades the Vantage Points suite offers. It was a pleasure working with and training their Police Department staff.” James Kelt, Public Safety Director for GTG, points out, “Vantage Points was created by GIS people with strong Public Safety backgrounds. The result is a tool-set that leverages the latest GIS functionality while understanding the unique needs of the Public Safety community.”
For information about Vantage Points and other public safety software, contact:
James Kelt
903.738.2560
