Police Looking to Install GPS Tracking

At this past City Council meeting, Chief Wilkerson requested funds to install GPS trackers in the squad cars and spoke about Canadian National installing them on their trains as well.  The purpose would be so that the dispatchers could see the locations of all the squad cars when sending officers out to respond to incidents.  Also they would be able to know if a train was blocking on of the at-grade crossings or would be by the time a squad car needed to get through.  This would allow them to let the officers know if they needed to take an alternative route.  This is a great use of technology and helps to offset effects of additional trains.  There is also the benefit of knowing where officers are if they need assistance, but cannot radio their location to the dispatcher.

There are other uses for this technology though that the police department may not be as excited about.  This technology could create a record of where the officers have patrolled on each shift, including how long they spent at City Hall, sitting in parking lots talking to each other, and other less productive activities.  It could also be used to see where they actually patrol and determine if they are where they are most needed as well as if they are neglecting some areas.  This would be a valuable tool for the Chief and any supervisors in the department to use, but I can imagine that the officers would not like that sort of scrutiny and oversight.  Although based on some of the stories I have heard about the department, it might be warranted.

I would be concerned about the liability issues it could raise though.  I envision lawyers walking into court and now having evidence that no officers had patrolled an area all night despite known problems in that area.  Or were all sitting at city hall and were slow to respond to a call across town.  I am not saying that such arguments might not be justified, I am just concerned about the potential liability this city would have if practices were not improved.  Hopefully, this technology can be put to good use to improve our current practices and actually become more effective than would have otherwise been possible.  Then the liability issues would be of far less concern and we would all benefit from better policing.

Job Well Done

The City has been working with Canadian National Railroad to reach an agreement to have the railroad make needed improvements within Crest Hill, if they are approved to purchase the EJ&E tracks.  This agreement was approved by the City at tonight's meeting after a number of work sessions and a great deal of communication between the City Attorney and CN.  The City Administrator also spent a great deal of time working out this agreement.

The city will be getting quiet zones, sound barriers along the tracks near a residential neighborhood, a berm near another neighborhood, a fence and grubbing where the tracks pass near Richland school, and a commitment to reduce the idling of trains in the city.  All of this is being paid for by the CN at a cost of potentially over $1 million.  They are of course not doing this merely out of the goodness of their hearts, but to try to win support for their purchase of the tracks.  The city though did work hard to get all that they could.  

I commend the hard work of city staff on this effort and congratulate the Council on approving an agreement with a company that many in Crest Hill and many other suburbs would rather not see come here at all.  They realized that we do not have the power to stop the deal, but we did have the power to create a number of benefits for ourselves.  This willingness to work with CN has not been present in many other communities.  Crest Hill definitely stands out as a shining example in this case.  Too often I wish we would follow the example of other cities that are doing the right thing, but in this case we have chosen to set the example.  

I will be hoping that our professional city staff continues to help the Council take advantage of opportunities such as this to put aside politics and do what is best for the city and its citizens.  And of course that the Council continues to have the wisdom and dedication to take such actions.