The New York City Police Department's Compstat: Dream or Nightmare?

Abstract

The Compstat paradigm has revolutionised the way policing is accomplished in democratic countries. Many agencies throughout the world have emulated the Compstat programme which originated in New York City in 1994. The strengths of Compstat have been widely publicised: dramatic reductions in crime, accountability of key staff members, and coordination of various units within an agency.The weaknesses of Compstat are less recognised: due process considerations, community relations, leadership issues, inadequate problemsolving. Weaknesses pose challenges and the authors present an alternative model to address these weaknesses. This model focuses on integrating community policing's essential components within the context of the Compstat paradigm. This provides a more powerful mechanism to combat crime and terrorism.

Institutional Racism, Numbers Management, and Zero‐Tolerance Policing in New York City

“…This statistics‐driven managerial system called “Compstat” was created to shake up an ineffectual bureaucracy that was not fighting crime (Eterno and Silverman ). In the early years, commanders feared embarrassment, loss of promotion, and many were removed from commands (Eterno and Silverman ; Silverman ). Bratton left in 1996, but Compstat remained and became a “legalistic‐style numbers game” driven by fear at the highest levels (Eterno and Silverman :223; Eterno and Silverman ).…”

“…In the early years, commanders feared embarrassment, loss of promotion, and many were removed from commands (Eterno and Silverman ; Silverman ). Bratton left in 1996, but Compstat remained and became a “legalistic‐style numbers game” driven by fear at the highest levels (Eterno and Silverman :223; Eterno and Silverman ).…”

“…For police the positive aspects of this numbers‐management system include efficiency and clarity of expectations, but the negative aspects include lack of discretion, lack of credit for public service, and feelings of alienation among the rank and file (Eterno and Silverman :227). Eterno and Silverman () report that, in its first decade, officers with special assignments were the most vulnerable to Compstat's pressure.…”

The international implications of quality‐of‐life policing as practiced in New York City

“…is recorded on a daily basis by all police officers, the numbers are checked by supervisors, and then entered into computerized systems, where they are entered into the Geographic Information Systems used to generate maps. Eterno and Silverman (2006) reported that COMPSTAT was embraced by police executives but actually alienated lower-level officers because of its intensive top-down management style.…”

Observations Regarding Key Operational Realities in a Compstat Model of Policing

“…Case studies and survey research ventures (Weisburd, Mastrofski, McNaley, Greenspan, & Willis, 2003) provide descriptive information about the department-level design and implementation of the Compstat model outside of the NYPD. 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.…”