An assessment of law enforcement officers' attitudes toward Compstat model of police management

Abstract

Over the last three decades, many innovations have been undertaken in American policing to improve organizational performance and accountability structures, and effectively and efficiently fulfill police missions and meet the needs of communities they serve. Compstat, an organizational innovation, represents a high point in the evolution of policing. Compstat is not only a crime control model but also a performance management system that focuses on changing organizational structure and culture. Like other policies or innovations, law enforcement agencies generally adopt a top-down approach to implementing Compstat. Nevertheless, as noted by many scholars in the field of public administration and policing, agencies should gain the support of organization members to effectively implement policies and organizational innovations. However, research is limited on the attitudes of law enforcement officers toward Compstat and the factors that affect their attitudes. Therefore, this study aimed to understand law enforcement officers' attitudes toward Compstat and to explore the factors affecting their attitudes. This study focused on discussions of the role of human factors in the implementation phase and attempted to examine the influence of police organizational culture on officers' attitudes toward Compstat. This research was conducted in three law enforcement agencies in the United States. The study used a mixed-methods approach, drawing on theories from organizational change and organizational culture. Quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire administered to 702 law enforcement officers and achieved an 80% response rate. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 17 officers and managers in various ranks. After principal components analysis and internal consistency reliability analysis were conducted, frequency distributions of variables were presented. The results indicated that approximately half of the participants had negative attitudes toward Compstat; only one fifth of the participants support Compstat; and about one third of the participants had neither positive nor negative attitudes toward Compstat. The results of the regression analysis indicated that supervisory attitude, receptivity to change, agency readiness, perceived effectiveness, work experience, and departments significantly predict law enforcement officers' attitudes toward Compstat. The findings of the qualitative data showed that perceptions of officers toward Compstat varied significantly by person and department. The results also indicated that communication, flow of information, information technology, and pressure influenced officers' attitudes.