Essay - Criminal Justice - Compstat Systems Compstat and Criminal Justice How...

Criminal Justice - CompStat Systems

***** and Criminal Justice

How to control crime and disorder - it's always been a huge problem, especially in big cities. In the 1970s, ***** *****to ***** 1980s, criminologists blamed crime and its increase on "root causes" such as "social injustice, racism, poverty," and economics, the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (Shane, 2004) reports. And those same ***** postulated that the way to prevent ***** was to change society dramatically - and hence, in the long run, police didn't really play that important a role, it ***** ***** sociological *****, ***** a cultural problem ***** needed to be solved.

But, police in fact do matter "when ***** comes to crime and keep*****g communities safe," the FBI article continues. In fact, by putting a system like CompStat into place, a ***** that is "deceptively simple," cities and their police departments will ***** afforded a better chance to h*****le ***** and criminals.

What ***** *****? It is a m*****nagement process which was pioneered by William Brat*****n, a former ***** commissioner in New York City. It is based, according to the ***** publication, on ***** "principle that by controlling serious crime, police are better poised to maintain order and solve other community problems in the promotion of public safety."

The FBI publication states that "reengineering" within an existing bureaucracy "c***** produce significant safety gains." The process is to "collect, analyze, and map ***** data and ***** essential police performance measures" - and ***** that on a very regular basis - in order to "hold police managers accountable" for the effectiveness ***** their efforts ***** the job.

Keep*****g everyone in ***** department focuses on the "core mission," and creates, the FBI bulletin *****, an environment in which officers ***** executives "c***** shed ***** cloak of cynicism that often comes from trying to do a job whose requirements ***** in irreconcilable conflict."

***** CompStat management process has indeed helped police stay up to date on any crime *****s that have taken ***** in neighborhoods with***** the recent past - *****s of all major types. CompStat, a crime-tracking and management tool, ***** ***** to "increase accountability within the department, with a view ***** more effective crime reducti*****" ***** to a report by ***** Worchester Region*****l Research Bureau (WRRB) (2003). One primary reason for CompStat's success, according the ***** report, is ***** was adopted from "tried and true ***** and organizational methods used ***** corporations."

In the WRRB report, the authors emphasize that the first step, prior to launching a CompStat system - and by doing so assessing performance in any department or categ*****y ***** a police department ***** the organization must "have detailed, precise, and up-to-date information" on all current c*****ditions. The information required includes detailed maps of the city, showing geographic patterns and trends over the past few months ***** years.

Secondly a department ***** is preparing to enter into a CompSt*****t arrangement must develop a tightly controlled system of "effective tactics" (WRRB) and strategies. Those strategies ***** later be put