Chicago Signs $74.9 Million Contract for CentralSquare Computer Aided Dispatch Software

The partnership enables Chicago police and fire departments to seamlessly share critical information during emergencies, cut response time

CentralSquare, the public safety software company, announced today that it has signed an agreement valued at $74.9 million with the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) for Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), Mobile and Analytics software. The agreement is one of the largest deals in public safety software in the past decade and comes at a critical time when across the United States first responders are dealing with 30 times more active shooter incidents since 2000, a 400% increase in drug overdoses since 2000, and over $23 billion yearly in losses from fire emergencies alone.

CAD software enables dispatchers to send first responders to an emergency incident as quickly as possible. Chicago’s current legacy emergency dispatch system was initially deployed in 1995. Since then, the sheer complexity of input that an emergency dispatcher receives has dramatically increased – including most calls now coming from cell phones and callers sending text messages to 911 centers and providing photos and videos of the incident. This has created a need to deploy a new, state-of-the-art dispatch system. CentralSquare’s CAD system seamlessly handles all of these digital inputs, automatically locates the cell phone caller’s location, precisely detects the location of the nearest first responder, smartly prioritizes which incident is most urgent, and ensures the lowest response time for each critical emergency. A one-minute decrease in emergency response time in Chicago can enable first responders to save up to 2,500 lives per year.

Currently, Chicago has two separate systems for fire dispatch and police dispatch. Of the top 18 major cities in the U.S., only six have a coordinated system, and all six of them use CentralSquare’s software. Now, Chicago will join the ranks of these six other major cities with a common system, providing both fire and police with access to the same information. This unified view will help Chicago police and fire share critical information, quickly enabling coordinated response that smartly handles all dimensions of the emergency. Further, CentralSquare’s software will integrate seamlessly into the city’s existing systems, from security cameras to gunshot detection sensors, providing every first responder in Chicago with a 360-degree view of every incident, increasing situational awareness and improving officer safety.

With CentralSquare’s software, Chicago will automatically receive comprehensive updates, and the new system will always remain state-of-the-art. Further, CentralSquare’s work with more than 5,000 public safety agencies will continuously inform the ongoing evolution of the software, making Chicago’s dispatch system always up to date and evergreen.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to serve Chicago and its 2.7 million citizens,” said CentralSquare President of Public Safety Steve Seoane. “As a trusted provider with three decades of experience serving major cities across North America, we are honored that Chicago recognized CentralSquare as the right company to work with in the long term. From our proven track record and wealth of experience to having the industry’s largest bench of talent to drive our software development, we’re confident that CentralSquare CAD will be the last dispatch system Chicago will ever buy.”

Featured

New Products

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.