Description: The Northern Illinois Police Alarm System represents a joint venture of suburban municipal police departments in the Chicago metropolitan area to ensure effective police mutual aid.
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The Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) represents a joint venture of suburban municipal police departments in the Chicago metropolitan area. Fifteen police agencies created NIPAS in 1983 to ensure effective police mutual aid in times of natural disasters. From these humble beginnings, the system has grown to include law enforcement agencies of over 100 cities, villages, and towns in five counties.
A governing board consisting entirely of police chiefs directs NIPAS and approves its annual budget, which serves as the basis for all NIPAS expenditures. Member agencies pay a set annual fee to participate, thus providing both the staff and the finances needed to manage the system.
In 1982, severe flooding nearly devastated several small communities along the shores of Lake Michigan north of Chicago. Public safety resources, especially those of law enforcement agencies, became stretched to the limit. Although neighboring communities responded with assistance, police leaders realized they needed a better organized system with pre-planned deployment procedures. The following year, chiefs of fifteen police agencies in Illinois’ northern Cook and southern Lake counties established NIPAS t