The huge drop in crime in New York City over the past few years has intrigued law enforcement agencies around the world. Behind the progress is political will, and an ingenious tool: CompStat.
Created in 1994 by four police officers, the computerised data bank of crime statistics is at the heart of the New York City Police Department’s success story.
Every Monday, it provides the entire police department crime statistics for the previous week, which are superimposed on maps to form a precise topography of crime, then used to develop more specific strategies.
The outcome of the system after almost nine years is 72% fewer murders and a 64% drop in crime overall. Lieutenant Eugene White, Department of Operations deputy chief, was one of CompStat’s inventors. Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, he said ”ran a law and order campaign (in 1993) of reducing crime.
”One of the first thing he asked for when he took office (in January 1994) was the crime statistics. The Police Department turned over to City Hall a briefing book that was about six months behind.”
”It was unacceptable,” added White. ”He wanted to know what
happened last week.” A group of police officers lacking advanced computer skills was tasked with finding a solution. They asked all 76 police chiefs in the city to fill out a form at the end of each week, putting check marks next to each crime committed in their part of the city. The forms were sent to headquarters where they were fed by the task force into a computer file.
”From that disk we were able to print out a program that gave us citywide crime statistics for the week,” said White ”They were amazed, it was so easy. No fancy program, just stick count … we didn’t spend any money,” he said.
The statistical revolution was followed by another, deeper one: the rank and file was made to feel more responsible. From April 1994, all chiefs of police called regular ”CompStat meetings” where officers and rank and file police told their superiors what had been happening on their beats, and what action plans they had in mind.
The crime statistics are beamed onto a giant screen where they are transferred to street maps of the surrounding area. For an hour or longer, some police officers take turns in front of the screen.
”If you want to advance your career, you’d better be good for the meeting,” said White, adding that police officers are selected just 24 hours in advance.
”As long as you have a plan or strategy, it’s all right. But the fellow who stands up at the podium and says, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ we tell them we can’t have you there.”
Although it now takes about 15 people working full time to handle all the statistics, CompStat is nothing fancy, White said, adding that visitors come from all over the world to learn about the system.
”We tell people: it’s not a program, it’s not about computers or maps. It’s about police executives telling their subordinates, ‘what are you doing about crime in your neighborhood.’ That’s all it is.
”I tell people: do not spend fortunes on fancy consultants. Just be ready to ask questions to people,” White said. CompStat uses the business program MapInfo to churn out its maps, allowing it to establish a crime topography in real time. If car theft or assaults are on the rise in a particular neighborhood, police officers can take measures such as increasing patrols. ”Its almost like stepping on a balloon,” said White. ”With those statistics and our mapping, we’re able to see now where the crime is and where it goes when we fight it: we displace it.”
The system provides a visual indication of the hour-by-hour or day-by-day resources that available in order to maximise the efficiency of police operations.
White says he tries to instill a sense of urgency in his men. ”You can’t wait, because those dots on the page are not dots, they are victims.” – Sapa-AFP