Bringing Research into Management Meetings

Managerial meetings (like Compstat) have become a regular practice in many police agencies. Most agencies use some adaptation of the New York City Police Department model, focused on examining changes in crime statistics within police districts or beats, exchanging information about specific investigations and individuals, and also providing a forum where officers might present crime prevention ideas. A common criticism of such meetings is that they focus too much on statistical enumeration, with a lack of dynamic or critical thinking, open exchange, and knowledge transfer.

In this demonstration, the MDP team developed short video clips intended to spark debate, discussion, and a more dynamic learning environment in Compstat meetings. Such videos can prompt commanders to think about problems in more strategic ways and to move beyond discussion of statistics or specific cases. Live video exchanges with researchers during Compstat meetings can also help to connect commanders with experts in the field. View more research resources on Compstat.