SOFTWARE AND A 'HOT SEAT' ARE NEW TOOLS FOR FIGHTING CRIME

City's District Commanders Have To Explain Any Rise In Illegal Acts
Every 2 Months

VANCOUVER - Compstat, a groundbreaking crime-fighting tool used in
New York and Los Angeles, has been adopted by the Vancouver police
department.

The system marries up-to-the-minute crime-mapping software with
regular "accountability meetings" at which district commanders are
evaluated on their success in reducing crime in their
neighbourhoods.

It was first used by former New York police chief William Bratton in
the early 1990s and some experts have credited it with spurring that
city's dramatic crime reduction over the past few years.

Other experts have questioned whether unrelated factors, such as the
hiring of thousands more police officers, may have had more to do with
it.

(Compstat stands for Comparative Statistics or Computer Statistics.)

Insp. Kash Heed, commander of Vancouver's southeast District 3, and
Insp. Bob Stewart, head of the patrol support section, travelled to
New York and Los Angeles to see how the program works and have been
involved in bringing it to Vancouver.

Heed said Compstat began full operations in Vancouver in March.

The first step, he said, was making better use of crime-mapping
software.

Until recently, such maps -- which pinpoint crime hot spots in the
city -- were only produced on a monthly basis.

Now, the commander of each district receives a crime map every morning
that highlights all the criminal activity in his or her district over
the past 24 hours.

Heed said updated maps allow him and other commanders to better deploy
their officers.

For example, he said, if there is a rash of thefts-from-auto in a
certain neighbourhood at a certain time of day, he can send any free
patrol cars to that spot in the hopes of catching someone in the act.

"So instead of being out there in random patrols waiting just to
answer the next call for service that comes across, they're
proactively out there targeting areas, targeting individuals."

The other key part of the program is accountability.

Every two months, each district commander in Vancouver is put on the
"hot seat" at police headquarters to explain to his superiors what
he's doing to reduce crime in his district.

Crime statistics for the past month are put up on a big screen, next
to stats for the month before. If crime has gone up, commanders have
to explain themselves.

In the past, said Heed, district commanders were evaluated primarily
on administrative skills -- such as staying within budget or deploying
resources effectively.

The Compstat meetings -- known as "inspections" -- shift the focus to
a single bottom line: reducing crime.

"I'll be frank with you," said Heed. "[Before Compstat,] I was not
held directly accountable for reducing crime in my area of command.
Now I am held directly accountable."

In New York, such inspections carried real consequences -- with
precinct commanders demoted if they failed to get the job done.

At the moment, said Heed, Vancouver's version of Compstat doesn't
carry such penalties.

But that could change.

"As we mature through this system, I think you'll see more
consequences for the individuals," he said.

The Compstat meetings are also attended by the heads of key support
sections -- such as surveillance and forensics -- who are required to
commit to helping the district commanders.

Compstat is still in its infancy in Vancouver, said Heed, but he's
confident it can show real results.

"Crime control is the over-arching priority that any police agency
should have," he said. "If we realize that is our mission, we will be
successful."