For 10 years, the Waukegan Police Department used New World’s Aegis public safety solution, on the IBM® iSeries solution, to its capabilities. Not unlike many police departments nationwide, Waukegan chose to implement New World’s Aegis solution on the Windows® platform. It is a familiar system, with drop down fields, cascading Windows, point-and-click, etc., and it easy to train new people as most are familiar with the Windows set up.
History
How does a city with a population of 81,324, an annual call for service volume of 96,500 between their public safety agencies and the highest CAD/NCIC volume in the county and region efficiently manage their city and keep it safe? In the City of Waukegan, the 320 members of the Law Enforcement and Fire department found they needed a software package that would streamline the daily processes in their Public Safety agencies. In December 1994, the City of Waukegan partnered with New World Systems and licensed the Aegis Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management suite of products.
"The team that chose the software felt comfortable with New World and felt that they were reliable," said Erik Vela, Director of Public Safety Administration Systems for Waukegan, IL. "In fact, out of the six public sector software companies we were looking at, New World is the only one still in business. The longevity of the company was also a key factor in the decision."
Upon making the final decisions on the public safety software that was best for them, they not only took into consideration the number annual calls for service, the high volume of CAD/NCIC calls and their population, but the annual number of tourists that travel to Waukegan. The city's decision had to support their responsibilities, and New World's technologically advanced software met the agency's needs.
"I believe that New World Systems' CAD software was truly written with the 9-1-1 Communications Dispatcher in mind," said Susie Rose-Sassone, 9-1-1 Communications Director for Waukegan, IL. "The CAD software increases the speed, accuracy and reliability of the entire dispatch process, and heightens officer safety by improving and expanding on critical information available from CAD to the units in the field."
The system is top of the line in dispatching software, but it also excels in their other modules, such as Records Management and Mobile Computing. The Records Management software tracks all information associated with an offender and/or a case in a central location called a Master Jacket File. Records has the ability to link multiple cases together to show patterns or associations, the ability to warn officers of warrants or possible dangerous situations before arriving to a scene, and tracks statistical and operational information.
The Public Safety Line-Ups/Mug Shots and Digital Imaging modules have furthered increased agency effectiveness by creating immediate access to digital mug shots, crime scene photos, signed confessions, permits or other scanned documents or images from any workstation or while in the field - creating a paperless environment. City employees find the modules easy to work with and less time consuming than having to find a paper file for the information they need. The City of Waukegan has found that they have saved time, money and reduced redundant data entry with New World's fully integrated product line.
In 1998, the department licensed Mobile Computing software, allowing officers to access dispatch information while in the field. Officers can find out if they are about to enter a dangerous situation before they arrive to a scene. The Field Reporting software saves officers time by writing reports right from their unit, so they can spend more time in the field than in the office.
"With the Mobile Computing solution, our response time is quicker, and our officers can feel safer by having information about the scene before they get there," said William Biang, Deputy Chief of Waukegan, IL. "Since we implemented the Mobile Computing Terminals (MCTs), crime has gone down. Voiceless dispatching gives us a better chance to apprehend the subjects during a robbery or when we are close to a drug bust, because scanners cannot pick up data from MCTs. If an offender has a scanner and dispatch sends it out over the wire, the subject is going to get away before the authorities get there. Now we have the advantage."
During its partnership with New World, Waukegan's department efficiency has increased with New World's CAD, Records Management, Mobile Computing software, and the available optional interfaces and modules. With single point of entry into the system, officials can access information from anywhere, which increases productivity and the safety of citizens and officers. The City of Waukegan chose New World, because of their products, their service and the stability of the company. New World Systems was founded in 1981 with the goal of providing the public sector with a broad range of high quality products and superior support services.
