Compstat's Role in Police Departments Cis 500

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of COMPSTAT in predictive policing technologies. It will compare and contrast the Information System with random street patrols. It will also analyze the information system’s basic functions of input, processing, output, and feedback. Tools such as COMPSTAT allow police to respond to crimes faster. The paper discusses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of COMPSTAT in police departments.

COMPSTAT and IT in Police Department Optimization

In an effort to reduce criminal activities, police departments throughout the United States have turned to predictive policing. This tactic involves deploying police officers in locations that are normally hot for criminal activity. According to Pearsall (2010), predictive policing “…has the potential to transform law enforcement by enabling police to anticipate and prevent crime instead of simply responding to it.” Organizations such as the National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance have included people from every level of this country’s law enforcement division, such as the Los Angeles Police Department, to discuss the impact preventive policing has on the future of law enforcement (Pearsall, 2010).

Predictive policing allows for the law enforcement officials to become more proactive as opposed to reactive in dealing with crime. While not necessarily predicting the future, it provides police chiefs such as Charlie Beck of the LAPD to move from “ ‘ focusing on what happened to focusing on what will happen and how to effectively deploy resources in front of crime’ ” (Pearsall, 2010). This is done by analyzing patterns and trends in data from all a variety of sources. The effectiveness of predictive policing depends on “how reliable it is, how different information sources are integrated and how all the data are analyzed” (Pearsall, 2010). Some police departments have turned to technology to provide useful information to the police....