Frequently Asked Questions

Emergency Notification Systems, or ENS, are systems to provide mass notification of residents in the event of an emergency. In Palos Park we have chosen to use the Smart911 system as a means to notify residents by phone.

If you receive a Smart911 message, listen carefully. The message will be brief and not repeated. Follow the instructions given. You may be directed to a commercial TV or radio station for further information. Do not hang up until you have heard the entire message. You may miss important information. Do not call 911 for further information unless directed to do so. You will only tie up the emergency lines.

The message is normally recorded by a detective. It is a true recorded message and not computer generated. The message will always begin with a statement that This is the Village of Palos Park Police, Fire, Village Hall or Public Works department. They will then state if the call is an emergency or non-emergency situation.

The text of the message and further instructions would follow. The messages will generally be brief and if further instructions are necessary, you may be directed to turn to a commercial radio or TV station.

Smart911 is a telephone notification system that can dial up to 60,000 phones an hour and deliver a recorded message. The detective division can use a digital map online to define an area that requires a message and Smart911 will automatically target all of the phone numbers in that defined area for the emergency message. When the detective initiates the notification, the recorded message is “blasted” to all the phones in the defined area in a very brief period. Busy numbers will be redialed a preset number of times. Smart911 also has the ability to store predefined lists of names and phone numbers that can be activated for specific notifications.

Cook County Dispatch has the authority to use confidential 9-1-1 telephone numbers for emergency ENS calls.

If a person utilizes cell phones, voice over IP or any other type of service not associated with normal landline telephone service, their phone will not be in the database. If a business has multiple telephone numbers associated with their business they may not be contacted. A privacy manager service will defeat the system. If you are uncertain or desire additional numbers to be notified, you can select the Smart911 link on the Palos Park Police Department web page. 

The primary use of Smart911 is to notify county residents of an immediate emergency. It can be used to define an area for evacuation or ‘shelter in place’ notifications for incidents such as a hazardous material spill or major gas leak. It can also be used to direct residents to a specific TV or Radio station for further important details and instructions. It may alert residents to shelters during weather or power emergencies. Smart911 can also be used to alert a neighborhood to watch for a lost child, an impaired individual who has walked away, or dangerous individuals that may be in the area.

Yes. Using the list feature, the Police Department may wish to use it to notify on-call employees very quickly and notify specialized officers in case of a large-scale emergency. The department can create lists of emergency responders and use Smart911 as a backup to the normal emergency notification process.

Cook County Dispatch has agreed that Cook County Dispatch would be the contracting agency and that Cook County Dispatch would assume the cost for emergency notifications. The Village of Palos Park may use Smart911 for non-emergency notifications and would reimburse Cook County Dispatch for the cost of the activation.

No! No Emergency Notification System is 100% reliable. People do not always hear TV and radio messages, especially at night. Sirens have a limited range and give little information. Door-to-door or mobile loudspeaker notifications are time-consuming and inefficient. Smart911 cannot reach everyone and is only a part of the notification process. It gives emergency managers another tool to alert the public. Residents are still encouraged to listen to warnings issued through the TV and radio media, the village website, social media and NOAA weather radios.

No. Smart911 is only one of many tools and has limitations. It does take some time to set up a Smart911 notification and make the calls. Threats in progress, such as a tornado that was just spotted, would not give emergency managers enough time to make a Smart911 notification. Emergencies that occur in a very brief time frame are not good candidates for a Smart911 type of notification. Other options may be more appropriate. - Smart911 Notification - Listen Carefully - Follow Instructions - Don’t hang up until you hear the whole message - Do not call 911 unless instructed

Any questions about Smart911 and its operation can be directed to our detective division at 708-671-3770.