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

  • A Break from Routine

    It was three years ago right about now that COVID was bringing the world to its knees. In mid-March of 2020, the president put travel restrictions on all flights in and out of Europe, the NBA suspended its season, and Tom Hanks announced that he’d tested positive for the disease—all in the same night. It was officially a national emergency two days later. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • Live From ISC West 2023 Preview

    ISC West 2023 is right around the corner! This year’s trade show is scheduled from March 28–31 at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Campus Security & Life Safety and Security Today staff will be on hand to provide live updates about the security industry’s latest innovations, trends, and products. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • Until We Meet Again

    A short three years ago we were all pondering whether to attend any tradeshows all thanks to COVID-19. Sorry to bring that nightmare up again, but it seems that little pandemic is in the rear-view mirror, and it’s time to meet again. Read Now

    • ISC West
  • Cyber Hygiene: What it Looks Like for IoT Devices

    Cyber Hygiene: What it Looks Like for IoT Devices

    For our second pillar about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Pillars of Security, we are going to discuss what cyber hygiene looks like for IoT devices. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

New Products

  • ABLOY IP54-rated Integrated Dust Cover

    ABLOY IP54-rated Integrated Dust Cover

    One of the things that keep security managers on high alert is the real possibility the security locks used to safeguard their properties may unexpectedly fail due to environmental conditions. 3

  • ComNet NW1 Gen 4

    ComNet NW1 Gen 4

    ComNet, Communication Networks, is announcing the introduction of its Generation 4 line of NetWave® wireless products that offer greater performance and increased stability in applications where throughput and increased bandwidth is increasingly important. 3

  • BIO-key MobileAuth

    BIO-key MobileAuth

    BIO-key International has introduced its new mobile app, BIO-key MobileAuth™ with PalmPositive™ the latest among over sixteen strong authentication factors available for BIO-key's PortalGuard® Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) platform. 3