NCJ Number
204121
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2004 Pages: 70-79
Editor(s)
Chris Eskridge
Date Published
February 2004
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article examines the Compstat model of police operations as a new paradigm of policing as presented in The Meaning of Compstat: A Theoretical Analysis by William F. Walsh and Gennaro F. Vito.
Abstract
The Compstat model of police operations has been implemented in some form by many police agencies in the United States as a means to produce a results-oriented strategy to achieve effective crime control. In their analysis of the Compstat crime control process model, William Walsh and Gennaro Vito describe it as a “goal-oriented strategic management process.” In this article, Walsh and Vito make several critical observations in establishing Compstat as a clearly defined paradigmatic shift from community policing and problem solving. The argument is made that Compstat has been very effective as a means of focusing police tactical efforts on specific crime and disorder problems while effectively maintaining consistency with the more philosophical and strategic elements of community policing with the key factor being the application of strategic management principles to create a new level of accountability for achieving goal-oriented results. Compstat is an effective method of reducing crime, which is the goal of any reasonable police manager and political leader. It is the result of what Walsh and Vito state is the attempt to synthesize elements of the rational-legal bureaucratic model with community policing. Compstat offers a new paradigm that introduces new ideas in combination with visible elements of its predecessors. References