Crime & Safety
Niles Building to Serve as Backup 911 Center
The Niles Public Safety Center will serve as a backup dispatch center for the City of Des Plaines. The two communities were part of a joint dispatch system until they split up.
The city of Des Plaines entered into an agreement this week with Niles to rent out one of its buildings as a back-up emergency dispatch center. Both communities previously were part of a four-community joint dispatching system known at the North Suburban Emergency Communications Center. The main system was located in the Des Plaines City Hall, with the back-up in Niles. When that four-community system disbanded in June, Des Plaines started running its own center.
However, officials decided that even though they are running the center out of the Des Plaines City Hall, they still wanted to have a back-up 9-11/dispatch Center. The back-up would ensure that there was continued 911 and dispatching service should Des Plaines’ main center become incapacitated. It would also provide overflow during busy periods, and a training center for new dispatchers and experienced dispatchers to learn new skills.
The city council agreed this week to rent out the Niles Public Services facility, which is next to its police station, for $1 a month. It also agreed to pay maintenance costs of no more than $215 per month, which would cost gas, phone, water and alarm system costs for the center.
