The co-implementation of Compstat and community policing

Over the last twenty-five years Compstat and community policing have emerged as powerful movements in U.S. police reform. Despite their importance, there are virtually no studies on how they interact when implemented in the same police organization. Based on field work in seven police agencies, this article provides the first systematic research on this co-implementation issue. In doing so it examines the reform literature to illuminate and clarify the key doctrinal elements of Compstat and community policing, including where they are similar and where they differ. Next it describes the patterns of co-implementation that emerged across different sites, including the finding that these reforms operated largely independently. This leads us to consider a broader theoretical explanation for why this should be the case and to provide a basis for enriching future research on the co-implementation of these reforms.

Research Highlights►First systematic study of how Compstat and community policing work together ►When implemented in same agency, reforms appeared to work independently ►Co-implementation helped agencies respond to different pressures in environment ►Lack of integration explained by agencies’ reluctance to disrupt technical core