The Oak Lawn Police Department officials welcome advanced technology in providing safety for residents and will add drones to continue on that path.
A resolution was approved during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting July 22 approving an agreement with Axon Enterprise Inc. for the purchase of two Axon Air-Skydio Drones.
The drones will be used by the police department for its Drones as First Responders (DFR) Program. The purchase amount will not exceed $503,587, according to Village Manager Tom Phelan.
Police Chief Daniel Vittorio said the drone program will be a great asset for the village in their diligence in fighting crime efficiently.
“These drones can get to an in-progress incident within two minutes,” Vittorio said. “As many of you know, when reporting to a crime scene in the middle of the afternoon, officers are dealing with a lot of traffic. These drones can report to that area quickly and will allow officers to monitor what is going on.”
Vittorio pointed out that these drones will be called for service in what is labeled Priority 1, meaning armed robberies and various crimes in progress. Priority 2 would be for misdemeanor offenses.
“We have started this with our license plate readers that have been a big help,” Vittorio said. “And we will run with this system fully when the new dispatch center opens. We will have someone looking over the system from there.”
The drones can travel as fast as 35 miles per hour and can report to a crime scene quickly with no delays, Vittorio said. The system will currently be patrolled from the police station. Priority 1 calls amounted to 4,829 during the year. Vittorio said it will be a great aid in tracking crime with drones traveling to an incident with 120 seconds.
“I’m very pleased with Axon,” Vittorio said. “This stuff works.”
Vittorio said that Axon representatives are going to allow the department to test its program in relation to the license plate readers. Axon is considering attaching devices to light poles to record activity in real time.
Squad cars will be able to access drone footage as well. However, Vittorio wanted to point out that officers will be driving and therefore concentrating on the road. The footage will be sent directly to the police station first.
The drones can travel in a two-mile radius and can reach 200 feet in altitude, Vittorio said.
Funding for the program was established through the crime seizures following arrests. No taxpayers funds were used for the program, Vittorio added.
“I saw an example of these drones and it just blew me away,” said Trustee Ralph Soch (6th).
Fire department additions
Promotions and additions to the fire department were recognized at the meeting. David Wheeler is the deputy fire chief and Charles O’Donnell has been named a fire captain.
James Nueman took the oath to become a fire engineer for the department. And taking the oath from Village Clerk Claire Hennning were two new firefighter/paramedics, Jasmine Williams and Gerardo Bustillos-Trujillo.