Assignment 1: Predictive Policing

The following resources may be helpful in completing this assignment:

• Goode, E. (2011, August 15). Sending the police before there’s a crime. Retrievable here.
• Pearsall, B. (2010, May). Predictive policing: The future of law enforcement? National Institute of Justice Journal, 266. Retrievable here.
• Predictive Policing Symposium (2010). Retrievable here.
• Shurkin, J. N. (2011, September 13). Santa Cruz cops experiment with ‘predictive policing’. Retrievable here.
• Willis, J. J., Mastrofski, S. D., & Weisburd, D. (2003). Compstat in practice: An in-depth analysis of three cities. Police Foundation. Retrievable here.

In 1994, the New York City Police Department adopted a law enforcement crime fighting strategy known as COMPSTAT (COMPuter STATistics). COMPSTAT uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the locations of where crimes occur, identify “ hotspots”, and map problem areas. COMPSTAT has amassed a wealth of historical crime data. Mathematicians have designed and developed algorithms that run against the historical data to predict future crimes for police departments. This is known as predictive policing. Predictive policing has led to a drop in burglaries, automobile thefts, and other crimes in some cities. Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:

1. Compare and contrast the application of information technology (IT) to optimize police departments’ performance to reduce crime versus random patrols of the streets.
2. Describe how COMPSTAT, as an information system (IS), implements the four (4) basic IS functions:
   1. Input
   2. Processing
   3. Output
   4. Feedback
3. Determine how information systems have allowed police departments that implement tools such as COMPSTAT to respond to crime faster.
4. Apply the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis (SWOT analysis) on behalf of police departments that intend to implement predictive policing.
5. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources. You may use the resources above or others of your choosing.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.