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 COMPSTAT
PROCESS
(803)545-3505/4110
The Columbia Police Department initiated the
CompStat process to provide its police officers with real-time preliminary
crime data and collaborative efforts to deploy resources to fight crime.
The
Crime Analysis
Unit generates electronic
pin
maps of crime locations
citywide; analyzes geographical locations of major crimes; monitors pattern
crimes; develops advanced computerized crime tracking methods; and provides
briefing/presentation materials for the Chief of Police. In addition police
personnel are held accountable for performance as measured by the data. In
weekly CompStat meetings, the real-time data is shared with commanders,
investigative sergeants and line officers. A brainstorming and problem
solving session occurs to formulate a plan of action to solve problems
revealed by the data. Once a tactical plan is developed, patrol and special
units coordinate their resources and expertise. CompStat has allowed the
Columbia Police Department to take a proactive, rather than reactive
approach toward policing.
Columbia Police
Department
The COMPSTAT Process
COMPSTAT, is a crime analysis and police management process developed by the
New
York City Police Department, and was introduced to the Columbia Police
Department in February 2005, by the former Chief of Police H. Dean Crisp.
The core of the
COMPSTAT process can be summarized as follows: Collect, analyze,
map crime data
and other essential police performance measures on a regular basis and hold
police managers accountable for their performance as measured by these data.
The Philosophy
of COMPSTAT
The philosophy behind COMPSTAT is quite simple. It is
based on four principles which have proven to be key ingredients of an effective
crime-fighting strategy; namely:
Accurate and
Timely Intelligence
Effective crime-fighting requires accurate and timely intelligence. Officers at
all levels of the police department must understand when (time of day, day of
week, week of year) various types of crimes have been committed as well as how,
where, and by whom they have been committed.
Effective Tactics
Having collated, analyzed and mapped this crime intelligence, the department's
commanders must develop effective tactics for dealing with the problems it
reveals. In order to bring about permanent change in crime conditions, these
tactics must be comprehensive, flexible, and adaptable to changing trends. They
must also involve other law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA and ATF,
the prosecutors, the probation services, other city agencies not directly
connected to law enforcement, as well as the public (e.g. community groups,
etc.)
Rapid
Deployment of Personnel and Resources
Once a tactical plan has been developed, the deployment of personnel and
resources must be rapid and focused. To be effective, the response to a crime or
quality-of-life problem demands that patrol and special units coordinate their
resources and expertise and act with a sense of urgency.
Relentless Follow-up and Assessment
All action must be relentlessly followed-up and assessed to ensure that the
desired results has been achieved. This is the only way of ensuring that
recurring or similar problems are dealt with effectively in the future.
The COMPSTAT
Process
On the basis of these principles, the Columbia Police Department ensures that
everyone from the line officer to the region commander interacts with the
community, both to solicit help and information, as well as to educate them
about the crime trends in their community.
The process begins
with the collection, analysis and
mapping of accurate and timely crime
information. This is the job of the Department's
Crime Analysis Unit, which is
staffed by civilians who are experts in the use of geographical information
systems. Crime in each
police region is broken down by type and then further
analyzed to identify the place of occurrence as well as the time of day, day of
week and week of the year of occurrence. Homicides, rapes, robberies, aggravated
assaults are broken down into those committed with and without weapons.
Aggravated assaults are further classified as domestic or non-domestic.
Burglaries are listed as residential or commercial. Thefts are classified as
retail theft, theft from person, theft from an auto, and auto theft.
Columbia Police
Department
The Columbia PD COMPSTAT
Meetings
This statistical information is the basis for weekly meetings where the Police
Chief and his entire top management team, plan and coordinate the Department's
fight against crime. These meetings, known as COMPSTAT meetings, normally take
place on Wednesday afternoon, at 2:00 pm, and last for about two hours.
Information prepared
by the
Crime Analysis Unit is projected onto a large screen in the front of the
room, and Region commanders who are responsible for the
mapped districts are
questioned on the success of their previous weeks plan of action. "Hot Spots" of
serious crimes and other problems such as quality of life offences are discussed
in detail and commanders are expected to describe their tactical plans for
dealing with the next weeks plan of action. Commanders are also asked to report
on the effectiveness of actions they have taken to tackle issues identified
during their previous COMPSTAT appearance.
The data examined at
COMPSTAT meetings runs Monday thru Sunday and is discussed on Wednesdays.
Commanders use Monday afternoon thru Wednesday afternoon to prepare for COMPSTAT
meetings. They research and analyze the results of deployment strategies,
disposition of offenders, multiple clearances, crime patterns and other relevant
data to prepare themselves for the inquiries that will be made at their next
COMPSTAT meeting.
An essential feature of the COMPSTAT process, and one that is generally
believed to account for its dramatic success in reducing crime in Columbia,
is the freedom that the Police Chief gives to his Region commanders to
deploy their resources as they judge to be most effective. But with this
freedom goes accountability and responsibility: It is at the COMPSTAT
meeting that the commanders are required to justify their decisions and are
held accountable for them.
Present at each
COMPSTAT meeting is the Interim Police Chief himself, the Lt. Colonel, the Major of
Investigations, the Major of Operations, his four Region Commanders, the
Captain of Administration, the Captain of Investigation, the Captain of
Special Operations, and the Intelligence Sergeants from all four Regions.
Also in attendance are representatives of USC, Forest Acres, BPS, FAP and
Parole and probation officers. These partnerships are essential ingredients
in the Department's efforts to reduce crime in Columbia. In this way, the
COMPSTAT process ensures that everyone in the city who has a contribution to
make in fighting crime is involved in the process of planning this fight and
monitoring its progress.
Collection
of Data for COMPSTAT
The Department's Incident Reporting System (LEAP) is the source of the crime
statistics. After a police officer prepares an incident report, it is
classified in accordance with the Federally mandated Uniform Crime Reporting
(UCR) standards. The data is then entered into LEAP and is available for the
region and investigative commander(s) to review. The revisions must be
documented prior to the LEAP system being changed. In the case of Part I
crimes (murder, rape, robbery, etc.), the investigator must submit a
follow-up report in order to comply with UCR reporting procedures. The
COMPSTAT maps are prepared on the basis of this information.
The Future of
COMPSTAT
COMPSTAT is an ongoing evolutionary process with improvements being made
regularly to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness in fighting crime.
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