COMPSTAT

Computer statistics (COMPSTAT) is a GIS-focused approach to managing a law enforcement organization and relies heavily on effective crime and investigative analysis. The focus is both internal and external.

GIS supports COMPSTAT's external focus by empowering police managers to fully understand and respond to the problems and concerns of citizens including

• Identifying and defining where problems are occurring
• Developing problem-solving strategies and tactics
• Implementing strategies and tactics to help reduce crime and improve quality of life

GIS supports COMPSTAT's internal focus by providing a common technology platform for managing and sharing information across a law enforcement organization including

• Supporting collaboration and accountability throughout the organization from the street officer to the chief and from one squad or shift to the next
• Ensuring coordination and eliminating duplication to best deploy resources

Crime mapping grabbed the public's attention when the New York Police Department (NYPD) launched its COMPSTAT initiative under former mayor Rudy Giuliani and former police commissioner William Bratton. COMPSTAT wasn't the first use of GIS to fight crime, but it was the most high profile, and much of the historic drop in crime in the Giuliani years was credited to COMPSTAT and its integration with what Bratton has called the core needs of all police organizations:

• Timely and accurate intelligence
• Rapid response
• Effective tactics
• Relentless follow-up

It's been nearly a decade since the NYPD adopted COMPSTAT, and crime mapping has grown as a key crime-fighting tool. More agencies than ever across the United States and Canada have embraced a geocentric approach to attacking crime and ensuring the safety of their communities.