Predictive Policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Predictive Policing - Essay Example By making use of information technology through implementation of COMPSTAT, police departments are able to cut costs in their daily operations. In the past, police officers often used to make random patrols which would cost more to the departments since they had no prior knowledge of possible crime zones. Information technology has, therefore, made it possible to cut down costs by mapping out crime zones where police officers would make their patrols from (McDonald, 2002). It has been reported by police departments such as the New York City Police Department that information technology such as COMPSTAT has significantly improved performance of the organization through accountability at different departments in the organization. Each department is assigned with particular task and with the help of information technology; weak links or poor performance can easily be detected within the organization. Quick identification of crime coupled with prompt and creative solutions has enabled many police departments to perform better in recent years. Information technology has enable police officer to respond swiftly to crime through monitoring and evaluation of crime statistics of a given neighborhood or region. Creative solutions such as early detection or preventive measure have significantly improved their performance. Despite these numerous gains brought by the use of information technology, there are other setbacks that come along with it. Random patrols for instance, would be effective in situations where new crime zones develop. The use COMPSTAT places emphasis on known crime zones, leaving out other parts unpatrolled. In such an event, COMPSTAT would perform very poorly in determining patrol routes. Unless new data is introduced into the system, patrols by police based on COMPSTAT would be definite hence predictable. This means that criminals can easily predict patrol routes of police officers due to the predetermined route of patrol. In such