The impact of COMPSTAT on reported crime in Queensland

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of Queensland Police Service's version of COMPSTAT, known as "Operational Performance Reviews" (OPRs), on reported crime. Design/methodology/approach -The paper employed interrupted time series analytic techniques to examine the impact of OPRs on various categories of reported crime in Queensland. The analyses assessed the extent to which OPRs were associated with crime reductions across the 29 police districts in Queensland. Findings -The introduction of OPRs was found to be associated with a significant decrease in the total number of reported offences in Queensland. OPRs were found to have their strongest effect on reported unlawful entries into dwellings and unlawful entries into other properties. The overall finding was that OPRs appeared to be a cost-effective approach to controlling crime, resulting in an overall saving of AUD$1,162,175. Practical implications -The current study suggests that COMPSTAT generally -and Queensland's OPRs in particular -can be an effective police management mechanism, which results in observable reductions in reported crimes. Moreover, OPRs appear to be most effective at reducing property-related crime. Modifications of this performance management process may help to generalize its effects to other types of crime. Originality/value -This study was the first to provide a systematic examination of the impact of OPRs on a relatively large number of offence categories.

Compstat in Australia: An analysis of the spatial and temporal impact

“…A negative, significant Time-OPR interaction (p b .05) indicates that, compared to pre-OPR, the monthly post-OPR log rate of unlawful entry into other types of premises is decreased by, on average, 0.004. Most of this decline can be attributable to the efforts of two police districts (see Mazerolle et al, 2007b). The overall result is consistent with previously-attained results of other timeseries analyses (Mazerolle, Rombouts, et al, 2007a, 2007b; see also Chilvers & Weatherburn, 2004) and highlights the substantial contributory role of post-OPR reductions in unlawful entry have on overall state crime trends.…”

“…Prior research conducted in Queensland found that implementation of Operational Performance Reviews (OPRs), akin to COMPSTAT in the US, resulted in state-wide reductions in different categories of crime (see Mazerolle, Rombouts, et al, 2007a, 2007b. The first aim of the present research was to contextualize these overall findings by exploring differences between 29 police districts in the state of Queensland.…”

“…First, it was anticipated that differences would be found between the 29 Queensland police districts which would contextualize recent research finding a statewide drop in crime across Queensland following the introduction of OPRs (see Mazerolle, Rombouts, et al, 2007a, 2007b. The second research hypothesis is based on criminological research spanning many decades which has identified a range of socio-political-economic factors (e.g., population growth, socioeconomic disadvantage, employment, urbanization, industrialization and demographic transformations) that explain significant portions of fluctuations in crime over time (Eck & Maguire, 2000;Cancino, 2005).…”

Can Statistics Help?

“…That strategy was associated with marked decreases in community crime statistics at the time (late 1990s). Since then, it has been applied in many locations, including the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland (Ratcliffe 2008, Mazerolle & Rombouts 2007. To date, the main application appears to have been used in localised community policing.…”

Observations Regarding Key Operational Realities in a Compstat Model of Policing

“…Commentary by various scholars (Eterno & Silverman, 2006;Firman, 2003;Kania, 2004;Klinger, 2003;Magers, 2004;McDonald, 2000;Moore, 2003;Moore & Braga, 2003;Silverman, 2006;Vito, Walsh, & Kunselman, 2005;Walsh, 2001;Walsh & Vito, 2004;Weisburd, Mastrofski, Willis, & Greenspan, 2006) provides ample food for thought regarding the positive and negative outcomes that the Compstat model has had on police administration. Yet another set of scholars (Braga, 2001;Chilvers & Weatherburn, 2004;Conklin, 2003;Eck & Maguire, 2000;Greene, 1999;Joanes, 1999;Kelling & Bratton, 1998;Kelling & Sousa, 2001;Levitt, 1997Levitt, , 2004Mazerolle, Rombouts, & McBroom, 2007;Rosenfeld, Fornango, & Baumer, 2005;Sousa, 2003;Unter, 2007;Weisberg, 2005) have sought to document the impact that the Compstat model has had on jurisdictional crime rates and various forms of targeted social disorder.…”