Improve the functioning of the alsip police department by advancing technology upgrades

This $372,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.753 Congressionally Recommended Awards) will fund technology upgrades for the Alsip Police Department in Illinois. The purpose is to improve the department's ability to respond, investigate, and apprehend offenders for organized retail crime and human trafficking. Specifically, the grant will continue the department's subscription to a real-time crime monitoring software system, allowing for integrated surveillance camera access across schools and businesses. Additionally, the funding will support the purchase and installation of license plate readers and surveillance cameras on local streets to enhance criminal activity identification and offender apprehension. The grant will also fund the deployment of a mesh network to improve interconnectivity of these technological advancements, ensuring long-term operational and fiscal sustainability. This project aims to strengthen the Alsip Police Department's capabilities in serving the approximately 19,000 residents of the 6.5-mile village, which hosts major transportation infrastructure and commercial activity.

This will allow the alsip police department to respond, investigate, and apprehend offenders for organized retail crime and human trafficking. The village of alsip spans approximately 6.5 miles and serves a population of 19,063 according to the 2020 census(u.s census bureau, 2020). The village also hosts an entrance and exit ramp to the i-294 expressway, five hotels, and several truck stops throughout the village. The population of the town swells during business hours as people traveling through or to alsip to shop our retail corridor or work in our industrial area. This project will help fund programs that will allow the alsip police department, a publicly funded agency, to better serve our community. The project will continue our subscription of the software system for our real time crime center. This software allows schools and businesses to integrate their surveillance cameras into the system so that our police officers can monitor their property for criminal activity prior to arriving on scene for a service call. Other communities have charged businesses for integrating with this system. Because of grant awards like this one, the alsip police department has made this a free service for the businesses and schools in our community. Additional funds will be used to purchase license plate readers and surveillance cameras that will be installed on streets to help identify criminal activity and efficiently apprehend offenders. This project will also fund the installation of a mesh network to improve interconnectivity of all these advancements with a forward-looking approach for fiscal responsibility in the future.