Downers Grove, IL
Downers Grove Police Department
A full lineup of solutions for any department to choose from
Locking Down A Functional Workflow For Downers Grove PD
An upgrade nearly 20 years in the making, the Downers Grove Police Department received a new headquarters as part of a newly constructed Civic Center facility. The unique space located adjacent to the department’s former home shares common areas with the Village’s Community Hall and Grade School District 58. Wanting to ensure the project delivered increased accessibility and efficiency for its sworn officers and staff, department administrators reached out to their local Spacesaver distributor for backup.
Having partnered with the Village on numerous projects and maintained a close relationship with the department throughout the funding acquisition process, our rep was briefed and ready for action when called upon. Building on the theme of creating a more functional and welcoming environment for its officers and staff, the department looked to its local Spacesaver rep to deliver storage solutions across its square footage.
Securing Resource Management For Downers Grove PD
For years, the appeal of a keyed lock was that it allowed for a unique access vehicle for each locker. However, lost keys and lost time waiting for a supervisor to open an officer’s locker with a master key called for a more efficient solution. The introduction of digital keyless locks allows department heads to easily assign a locker to officers and staff, reducing downtime and increasing control of who has access to which locker throughout each shift.
Knowing that Downers Grove PD wanted to stay on top of the latest advancements, our local rep included digital keyless locks on all their incoming lockers. With these in place, department administrators could dramatically reduce loss and boost officer responsiveness and community safety. Below, we’ll take you on a tour of several locations where Spacesaver’s solutions are supporting the facility and its inhabitants.
A Well-Organized Source of Officer Well-Being
The recruitment and retention of officers to a department can be incredibly competitive. As such, a well-outfitted locker room can serve as the deciding factor for attracting rookies and keeping veterans on the force. Much more than a place to house gear and belongings, Spacesaver’s versatile lockers can significantly impact the well-being of officers by offering a dependable location for them to transition from being on- and off-duty.
To ensure they could establish a competitive advantage over other precincts, Downers Grove PD looked to their local Spacesaver rep to set its locker rooms apart from the rest. Focused on creating a design and feel for the men’s and women’s locker rooms that emphasize comfort and relaxation, our rep compiled a lineup of 127 FreeStyle® Personal Storage Lockers, each designed to be configured to fit the force’s varied needs.
To reduce misplaced items and dust accumulating on top of the lockers, the lockers are outfitted with sloped tops. Additional features of the lockers include 20 Amp power outlets for charging personal and professional items, Ojmar OTS® Advance digital keyless locks, an adjustable shelf with integral garment hanger, hooks, boot tray, 48” access height for ADA, louvers for ventilation, wood bench drawer, and a 12” H modular shelf.
A Smooth Transition From Roll To Patrol
Once the change from off- to on-duty is made in the locker room, the department’s officers head upstairs to roll call before heading out to their assigned beat. To reduce the amount of gear needed to be stored in their personal locker and trips back downstairs before heading out on patrol, our rep provided Gear and Duty Lockers in a high-traffic corridor between the department’s break room and direct access points to its motor pool. These versatile storage units offer quick access to and secure storage ranging from riot gear to weather-related supplies and more.
To increase security and ease of access for users and assignment tracking for administrators, the lockers are outfitted with Ojmar OTS® Advance locks. This feature allows the lockers to be utilized by multiple users on various shifts without the need to issue and track keys. Not only that, but officers can quickly access their gear with a code specifically assigned to them.
Downers Grove Police Department's First Link In The Chain
Officers will often need return to headquarters to deliver a suspect and/or evidence relating to an alleged offense. Initially, the suspect and/or evidence will be detained in a holding area until they are ready to be processed. To maintain the integrity of the evidence throughout the booking process, our rep delivered a group of Day Use Lockers with Ojmar OCS® Pro locks. These lockers – two of which are equipped with USB ports to keep detainees’ personal devices charged – support the department’s ability to maintain evidence in a state that is as close as possible to what it was collected in.
Mounted above cubby space consisting of Day Use Locker frames without doors, the lockers (presented in three different configurations to fit materials of multiple sizes) include multiple hooks to help in preserving evidence.
Proceeding With The Processing
When evidence is ready to be accounted for by the department’s expert lab technicians, officers have a wide array of evidence storage lockers to utilize, each designed to accommodate materials collected as evidence. Embedded into a wall that divides long-term evidence storage from the processing room, a bank of Pass-Thru Evidence Lockers is outfitted to safely and securely store pieces of most shapes, sizes, and forms. These lockers allow officers to enter evidence into an assigned locker on one side, and an evidence technician to retrieve and process the items on the other side – reducing the number of touches and limiting access to just the presenting officers and the assigned technicians.
Four of the lockers have been outfitted with USB ports for keeping digital evidence devices powered while staying secure, and two of the lockers in the bank are outfitted with Ojmar OCS® Pro locks to allow for crash/temporary holding and pass back capabilities. One locker even features a mail slot for quick delivery of uniquely sized sealed materials. For evidence that requires temperature control, six of the lockers are refrigerated. This ensures that the evidence remains as close to the state it was collected as possible.
Downers Grove PD Turns The Wheel Of Justice
Behind the curtain (wall) lies the department’s longer-term evidence storage systems in the form of Spacesaver High-Density Mobile Shelving (HDMS) systems. Featuring high-capacity, reconfigurable RaptorRAC® Widespan shelving mounted on 10 rows of HDMS carriages with Mechanical Assist controls, materials from boxes to long guns to miscellaneous evidence in totes of all sizes can be safely and efficiently stored to maximize capacity.
Truly customizing the HDMS system to fit the department’s space, our rep and design team were able to adjust the height of the back row of carriages to account for low hanging pipes. This allowed the department to optimize the space for its current needs and preserve space for future evidence.
A Great Fit For All
As the facility that also houses the local school district and the Village of Downers Grove, there was a strong need for versatile and secure storage in the common access hallways near the building’s gym facilities. Not only that, but unlike many of our storage solutions in the building, this storage required the ability to easily be checked out as needed rather than assigned.
Knowing this, our rep provided twenty 36” H by 12” W Day Use Lockers with Ojmar OCS® Pro digital keyless locks for the hallways outside the restroom and shower areas. These strategically outfitted lockers and innovative locking mechanisms allow for users to securely store their belongings and create a unique access code for each session – boosting accessibility and security for all fitness focused users.
A Clean Finish To The Downers Grove Police Department Install
Last but certainly not least, are the lockers allotted for the facility’s maintenance staff within their dedicated break room. This grouping of six durable, 18-gauge steel Day Use Lockers are outfitted with Ojmar OCS® Pro locks for ease of access and increased security. These 72” H x 18” W lockers feature multiple hooks for securely storing personal belongings as well as uniforms and equipment, allowing users to efficiently store the materials they need to get the job done and transition back to their home life. True to the individuals who use them, the tops of these lockers are sloped for easier cleaning.
Supporting Environmentally Sustainable Features
A major consideration for the design of the municipal building was to include sustainable elements such as rainwater cisterns, photovoltaic panels, material selection and landscaping improvements. By utilizing Spacesaver’s sustainably manufactured and long-lasting solutions, the department is able to contribute to the community’s environmental conservation efforts for years to come.
Spacesaver's Sustainability Brochure
At Spacesaver, how we build our products is just as important as what we build. We take precautions both locally and globally to preserve the availability of natural resources for future generations.
Spacesaver's Sustainability Brochure
At Spacesaver, how we build our products is just as important as what we build. We take precautions both locally and globally to preserve the availability of natural resources for future generations.
