Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-plnhv Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2025-08-09T23:10:40.972Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Part IX - CompStat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2019

Edited by
David Weisburd  and
Anthony A. Braga
David Weisburd
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
Anthony A. Braga
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston
Get access

Summary

CompStat tributes are extensive. Compstat has been described as “perhaps the single most important organizational/administrative innovation in policing during the latter half of the 20th century” (Kelling & Sousa, 2001: 6). A Criminology and Public Policy journal editor termed Compstat “arguably one of the most significant strategic innovations in policing in the last couple of decades” (Weisburd et al., 2003: 419). The authors of a major study note that Compstat “has already been recognized as a major innovation in American policing” (Weisburd et al., 2003: 422). In 1996, Compstat was awarded the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Former New York City Mayor Giuliani proclaimed Compstat as his administration’s “crown jewel” (Giuliani, 2002: 7).

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Police Innovation
Contrasting Perspectives
 , pp. 397 - 436
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

References

Anderson, D. C. (2001). Crime control by the numbers: Compstat yields new lessons for the police and the replication of a good idea. Ford Foundation Report. New York.Google Scholar
Baker, Al. (2017, May 8). Data crunchers ask New Yorkers: “How are the police doing?” New York Times B.1.Google Scholar
Bratton, W. (1996, August 1). Management secrets of a crime-fighter extraordinaire. Bottom Line.Google Scholar
Bureau of Justice Assistance, Police Executive Research Forum. (2013). Compstat: Its origins, evolution, and future in law enforcement agencies. Retrieved November 13, YEAR? from http://policeforum.org/library/compstat/Compstat.pdf.Google Scholar
Chilvers, M., & Weatherburn, D. (2004). The New South Wales Compstat process: Its impact on crime. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology.Google Scholar
City of New York, NYPD. (n.d.) www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/crime-statistics/citywide-crime-stats.page.Google Scholar
Clines, F. X. (2001, January 3). Baltimore gladly breaks 10-year homicide streak. New York Times, A11.Google Scholar
Dussault, R. (1999). Jack Maple: Betting on intelligence. Internet, govtech.net/publications, April.Google Scholar
Eck, J. E., & Maguire, E. R. (2000). Have changes in policing reduced violent crime? An assessment of the evidence. In Blumstein, A., & Wallman, J. (eds.), The Crime Drop in America (pp. 207–265). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Eterno, J. A. (2003). Policing within the Law: A Case Study of the New York City Police Department. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Eterno, J. A., & Silverman, E. B. (2012). The Crime Numbers Game: Management by Manipulation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC/Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Eterno, J. A., Silverman, E. B., & Barrow, C. S. (2016). Forcible stops: Police and citizens speak out. Public Administration Review, 7(2), 191–192.Google Scholar
Eterno, J. A., Verma, A., & Silverman, E. B. (2016). Police manipulations of crime reporting: Insider’s revelations. Justice Quarterly, 33(5), 811–833.Google Scholar
Gardiner, S., & Levitt, L. (2003, June 21). NYPD: Some crime stats misclassified. New York Newsday, 11.Google Scholar
Giuliani, R. W. (2002). Leadership. New York: Hyperion.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, S. (2004, July 28). The Innovations in American Government Awards. Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.Google Scholar
Gootman, E. (2000, October 24). A police department’s growing allure: Crime fighters from around world visit for tips. New York Times, B1.Google Scholar
Henry, V. E., & Bratton, W. J. (2002). The Compstat Paradigm: Management Accountability in Policing, Business and the Public Sector. New York: Looseleaf Law Publications.Google Scholar
Hernandez, J., O’Boye, S., & O’Neill, A. W. (2004, February 25). Sheriff’s office scrutinizes its crime data bonuses tied to performance under review. Sun-Sentinel, A1, 6.Google Scholar
Iannone, N. E., Iannone, M. D., & Bernsteing, J. (2009). Supervision of Police, 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Jones, S., & Silverman, E. (1984). What price efficiency. Policing, 1(1), 31–48.Google Scholar
Kanter, R. M. (1983). The Change Masters. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Kelling, G. L., & Sousa, W. H. (2001). Do Police Matter? An Analysis of the Impact of New York City’s Police Reforms. Civic Report No. 22. New York: Manhattan Institute.Google Scholar
MacDonald, H. (2001). Keeping New York safe from terrorism. City Journal. Autumn.Google Scholar
Manning, P. K. (2001). Theorizing policing: The drama and myth of crime control in the NYPD. Theoretical Criminology, 5(3), 315–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maple, J. (1999). The Crime Fighter. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Moore, M. (2003). Sizing up Compstat: An important administrative innovation in policing. Criminology and Public Policy, 2(3), 469–494.Google Scholar
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and Communities. Washington, DC. The National Academies Press. doi: https: doi.org/10.17226/24928.Google Scholar
New York City Police Department. (1994). Re-engineering team. Precinct Organization. New York.Google Scholar
O’Connell, P. E. (2001). Using Performance Data for Accountability. Arlington, VA: Price Waterhouse Coopers, August.Google Scholar
O’Connell, P. E., & Straub, F. (1999a). Why the jails didn’t explode. City Journal, 2, Spring, 28–37.Google Scholar
O’Connell, P. E., & Straub, F. (1999b). Managing jails with T.E.A.M.S. American Jail, March/ April, 48–54.Google Scholar
O’Connell, P. E., & Straub, F. (1999c, September 30). For jail management, Compstat’s a keeper. Law Enforcement News, 9.Google Scholar
Parascandola, R., & Levitt, L. (2004, March 22). Police statistics: Numbers scrutinized. New York Newsday, 14.Google Scholar
Peters, T., & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In Search of Excellence. New York: Warner.Google Scholar
Police Executive Research Forum. (2014). Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.Google Scholar
Pooley, E. (1996). One good apple. Time, January, 55–56.Google Scholar
Ritea, S. (2003, October 24). Five N.O. officers fired over altered crime stats. The Times Picayune, 1.Google Scholar
Ritea, S. (2003, October 25). Crime, coercion and cover-up. The Times-Picayune, 1.Google Scholar
Silverman, E. B. (2001). Epilogue. NYPD Battles Crime: Innovative Strategies in Policing. Boston: Northeastern University Press.Google Scholar
Silverman, E. B., and O’Connell, P. (1999). Organizational change and decision making in the New York City Police Department. International Journal of Public Administration, 22(2).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webber, R., and Robinson, G. (2003). Compstamania. Gotham Gazette. New York: Citizens Union, July 7.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., Mastrofski, S. D., McNally, A. M., and Greenspan, R. (2001). Compstat and organizational change: Findings from a national survey. Report submitted to the National Institute of Justice by the Police Foundation.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., Mastrofski, S. D., McNally, A. M., Greenspan, R., and Willis, J. J. (2003). Reforming to preserve: Compstat and strategic problem solving in American policing. Criminology and Public Policy, 2(3), 421–456.Google Scholar
Weissenstein, M. (2003). Call on NY’s top cops: NYPD brass recruited by other cities to lower crime rates. Newsday, January 2.Google Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., Weisburd, D., and Greenspan, R. (2004). Compstat and Organizational Change in the Lowell Police Department: Challenges and Opportunities. Washington, DC: Police Foundation.Google Scholar
Zimring, F. E. (2011). The City that Became Safe: New York and the Future of Crime Control. Unpublished article. Retrieved May 23, 2017, from www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/siwp/WP9Zimring.pdf.Google Scholar

References

Anderson, D. C. (2001). Crime Control by the Numbers: Compstat Yields New Lessons for the Police and the Replication of a Good Idea. Ford Foundation Report: 5. New York.Google Scholar
Bayley, D. (1994). Police for the Future. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Bittner, E. (1980). The Functions of the Police in Modern Society. Cambridge, MA: Oelgeschlager, Gunn and Hain.Google Scholar
Braga, A., & Bond, B. (2015). Rethinking the Compstat process to enhance problem-solving responses: insights from a randomized field experiment. Police Practice and Research, 16, 22–35.Google Scholar
Bratton, W. J. (1996). Cutting crime and restoring order: What America can learn from New York’s finest. Heritage Foundation Lectures and Educational Programs, Heritage Lecture #573. Retrieved from www.nationalsecurity.org/ heritage/library/categories/crimelaw/lect573.html.Google Scholar
Bratton, W. J. (1998). Turnaround: How America’s Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Bratton, W. J. (1999). Great expectations: How higher expectations for police departments can lead to a decrease in crime. In Langworthy, R. H. (ed.), Measuring What Matters: Proceedings from the Policing Research Institute Meetings (pp. 11–26). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.Google Scholar
Bureau of Justice Assistance and Police Executive Research Forum. (2013). COMPSTAT: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future in Law Enforcement Agencies. Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum.Google Scholar
Chilvers, M., & Weatherburn, D. (2004). The New South Wales “Compstat” process: Its impact on crime. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 37, 22–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, E. M. (1981). Professional police principles. In More, H. W. Jr. (ed.), Critical Issues in Policing. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Di Lampedusa, G. (1991). The leopard. (Translated by Archibald Colquhoun.) New York: Pantheon Books [1960].Google Scholar
De Maillard, J., & Savage, S. P. (2017). Policing as a performing art: The contradictory nature of contemporary police performance management. Criminology and Criminal Justice, DOI 10.1177/1748895817718589.Google Scholar
Dixon, D. (1998). Broken windows, zero tolerance and the New York Miracle. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 10, 96−106.Google Scholar
Eterno, J. A., Verma, A., & Silverman, E. (2016). Police manipulations of crime reporting: Insiders’ revelations. Justice Quarterly, 33, 811–835.Google Scholar
Eck, J. E., & Maguire, E. R. (2000). Have changes in policing reduced violent crime? An assessment of the evidence. In Blumstein, A., & Wallman, J. (eds.), The Crime Drop in America (pp. 207–65). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Goldstein, H. (1977). Toward a community-oriented policing: Potential, basic requirements, and threshold questions. Crime and Delinquency, 33(1), 6–30.Google Scholar
Goldstein, H. (1979). Improving policing: A problem oriented approach. Crime and Delinquency, 24, 236–258.Google Scholar
Goldstein, H. (1990). Problem-Oriented Policing. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Greenberg, D. F. (2013). Studying New York City’s crime decline: &<ethodological issues. Justice Quarterly, 31, 158–188.Google Scholar
Greene, J. R., & Mastrofski, S. D. (1988). Community Policing: Rhetoric or Reality. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Greenspan, R., Mastrofski, S. D., & Weisburd, D. (2003). Compstat and Organizational Change: Short Site Visit Report. Washington, DC: Police Foundation.Google Scholar
Gurwitt, R. (1998). The comeback of the cops. Governing, January, 14–19.Google Scholar
Henry, V. E. (2002). The COMPSTAT Paradigm: Management Accountability in Policing, Business, and the Public Sector. New York: Looseleaf Publications.Google Scholar
Jang, H., Hoover, L. T., & Hee-Jong, J. (2010). An evaluation of Compstat’s effect on crime: The Fort Worth experience. Police Quarterly, 13, 387–412.Google Scholar
Kelling, G. L., & Coles, C. M. (1996). Fixing broken windows: Restoring order and reducing crime in our communities. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Kelling, G. L., & Sousa, W. H. Jr. (2001). Do police matter? An analysis of the impact of New York City’s police reforms. Retrieved from www.manhattan-institute.org/cr 22.pdf.Google Scholar
Law Enforcement News. 1997. NYC’s Compstat Continues to Win Admirers. October 13.Google Scholar
Maas, P. (1998). What we’re learning from New York City. Parade, May 10, 4–6.Google Scholar
Maple, J. (1999). The Crime Fighter: Putting the Bad Guys out of Business. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Mastrofski, S. D. (1998). Community policing and police organization structure. In Brodeur, J. P. (ed.), How to Recognize Good Policing: Problems and Issues (pp. 161–189). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Mazerolle, L., Rombouts, S., & McBroom, J. (2007). The impact of Compstat on reported crime in Queensland. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 30, 237–256.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. P. (1998). The New York City Crime Control Model: A Guide to Implementation. Unpublished manuscript. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. P., Greenberg, S., & Bratton, W. J. (2001). Managing Police Operations: Implementing the NYPD Crime Control Model Using COMPSTAT. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Melnicoe, W. B., & Menig, J. (1978). Elements of Police Supervision. Encino, CA: Glencoe Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Merton, R. K., Gray, A. P., Hockey, B., & Selvin, H. G. (eds.). (1952). Reader in Bureaucracy. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Punch, M. (1983). Management, supervision and control. In Punch, M. (ed.), Control in the Police Organization. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Remnick, D. (1997). The crime buster. The New Yorker, February 24 & March 3, 94–109.Google Scholar
Rosenfeld, R., Fornango, R., & Baumer, E. (2005). Did Ceasefire, Compstat, and Exile reduce homicide? Criminology & Public Policy, 4, 419–449.Google Scholar
Santos, R. B. (2013). Implementation of a police organizational model for crime reduction. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management 36, 295–311.Google Scholar
Silverman, E. B. (1996). Mapping change: How the New York City police department re-engineered itself to drive down crime. Law Enforcement News, December.Google Scholar
Silverman, E. B. (1999). NYPD Battles Crime: Innovative Strategies in Policing. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.Google Scholar
Simons, R. (1995). Control in an age of empowerment. Harvard Business Review, 73, 1–7.Google Scholar
Skolnick, J. H., & Bayley, D. H. (1987). Theme and variation in community policing. In Crime and Justice. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.Google Scholar
Taylor, R. B. (2001). Breaking away from Broken Windows: Baltimore Neighborhoods and the Nationwide Fight against Crime, Grime, Fear, and Decline. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., & Eck, J. (2004). What can police do to reduce crime, disorder, and fear. Annals of American Political and Social Science, 593, 42–65.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., McElroy, J., & Hardyman, P. (1988). Challenges to supervision in community policing: Observations on a pilot project. American Journal of Police, 7, 29–50.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., & Majmundar, M. (eds.). (2018). Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and Communities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., Mastrofski, S. D., McNally, A. M., & Greenspan, R. (2001). Compstat and organizational change: Findings from a national survey. Report submitted to the National Institute of Justice by the Police Foundation.Google Scholar
Weisburd, D., Mastrofski, S. D., McNally, A. M., Greenspan, R., & Willis, J. J. (2003). Reforming to preserve: Compstat and strategic problem solving in American policing. Criminology and Public Policy, 2(3), 421–456.Google Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., Weisburd, D., & Greenspan, R. (2004). Compstat and Organizational Change in the Lowell Police Department: Challenges and Opportunities. Washington, DC: Police Foundation. Retrieved from www.policefoundation.org/pdf/compstat.pdfGoogle Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Weisburd, D. (2004a). COMPSTAT and bureaucracy: A case study of challenges and opportunities for change. Justice Quarterly, 21(3), 463–496.Google Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Weisburd, D. (2004b). Compstat in Practice: An In-Depth Analysis of Three Cities. Washington, DC: The Police Foundation.Google Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Weisburd, D. (2007). Making sense of Compstat: A theory-based analysis of organizational change in three police departments. Law and Society Review, 41, 147–88.Google Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Kochel, T. R. (2010a). The co-implementation of Compstat and community policing. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 969–980.Google Scholar
Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Kochel, T. R. (2010b). Maximizing the Benefits of Reform: Integrating Compstat and Community Policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services, US Department of Justice.Google Scholar
Wilson, J. Q., & Kelling, G. L. (1982). Broken windows: The police and neighborhood safety. The Atlantic Monthly, March, 29–38.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×