Does CompStat Reduce Crime?
Does Compstat reduce crime ?
Compstat (short for computer statistics or comparative statistics) originated in the new york city police department (NYPD) in 1994 when william bratton was police commissioner. Compstat is a comprehensive, city-wide database that records all reported crimes or complaints, arrests, and summonses issued in each of the city’s 76 precincts. City officials had previously believed that crime could not be prevented by better information and analytical tools but instead by using more foot patrols in neighborhoods along with the concept of “community policing” in which efforts were made to strengthen the involvement of community groups. In contrast, bratton and rudy giuliani, then the mayor of new york city, believed that police could be more effective in reducing crime if operational decisions took place at the precinct level and if decision makers had better information. Precinct commanders were in a better position than police headquarters to understand the spesific needs of the communities they served and to direct the work of the 200 to 400 police officers they managed. Compstat gave precinct commanders more authority and responsibility, but also more accountability.
At weekly meetings, representatives from each of the NYPD’s precincts, service areas, and transit districts are put on the “hot seat’ at police headquarters and required to provide a statistical summary of the week’s crime complaint, arrest and summons activity, as well as significant cases, crime patterns, and police activities. Commanders must explain what has been done to reduce crime in the districts under their command, and if crime has gone up, they must explain why. Commanders are held directly accountable for reducing crime in their area of command. In the past, they were evaluated primarily on the basis of their administrative skills, such as staying within budget and deploying resources efficiently.
The data these commanders provide, including spesific times and
Compstat (short for computer statistics or comparative statistics) originated in the new york city police department (NYPD) in 1994 when william bratton was police commissioner. Compstat is a comprehensive, city-wide database that records all reported crimes or complaints, arrests, and summonses issued in each of the city’s 76 precincts. City officials had previously believed that crime could not be prevented by better information and analytical tools but instead by using more foot patrols in neighborhoods along with the concept of “community policing” in which efforts were made to strengthen the involvement of community groups. In contrast, bratton and rudy giuliani, then the mayor of new york city, believed that police could be more effective in reducing crime if operational decisions took place at the precinct level and if decision makers had better information. Precinct commanders were in a better position than police headquarters to understand the spesific needs of the communities they served and to direct the work of the 200 to 400 police officers they managed. Compstat gave precinct commanders more authority and responsibility, but also more accountability.
At weekly meetings, representatives from each of the NYPD’s precincts, service areas, and transit districts are put on the “hot seat’ at police headquarters and required to provide a statistical summary of the week’s crime complaint, arrest and summons activity, as well as significant cases, crime patterns, and police activities. Commanders must explain what has been done to reduce crime in the districts under their command, and if crime has gone up, they must explain why. Commanders are held directly accountable for reducing crime in their area of command. In the past, they were evaluated primarily on the basis of their administrative skills, such as staying within budget and deploying resources efficiently.
The data these commanders provide, including spesific times and