There is great concern in Houston about the apparently ever-increasing level of crime and violence in our neighborhoods. Three Houstonians; Alan Helfman, Jay Wall and William A. Wolff, have been presenting information about a program that has been implemented in New York City and Los Angeles and which has resulted in some dramatic reductions in the crime rate, the innovative CompStat policing system.
Jay Wall pesented an overview of this crime control system at this week's meeting. It is facinating and seems to offer a great system for the monitoring and control of crime.
The COMSTAT process involves four principles:
1) Accurate, timely intelligence, which is communicated to all.
- daily forwarding and review of offense reports by District Investigative Unit (DIU) Commander
- cases with follow-up possibility assigned to investigator.
- directed patrols ordered based on offense info
2) Rapid deployment, which is coordinated and focused.
- Uniformed squads deployed in problem areas
- Investigators shifted to coincide with discernible crime patterns and trends
3) Effective tactics.
- Detectives respond to all violent crimes.
- Canvass for witnesses conducted.
- All suspects arrested for UCR offenses debriefed by detectives.
4) Relentless follow-up and assessment.
- Debriefing perpetrators arrested for felonies.
- Reinterview victims and witnesses of major crimes
- Roll call training on crime fighting, evidence gathering, and required documentation in reports.
- Weekly District COMSTAT meetings involving District Commander, Investigative Commander, squad supervisors, detectives, narcotics squad officers, and task force officers, regarding crime strategies.
COMSTAT, an acronym for Computer Statistics, involves a weekly review, accountability, and strategy session involving the Department's top brass and District/Precinct Commanders.
If you would like more information on COMSTAT ere are a few links:
