The purpose of the paper was to investigate whether implementation of a crime control model (based, in part, on the concepts of COMPSTAT) in one southern California city was effective in reducing crime. Time series regression models were fitted to data collected from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, city of Perris, for the years 2000 through 2010. Additional data were collected from three other cities that served as controls. Results showed that the program was effective in reducing crime rates in Perris. The effect remained significant even after taking into account time trends and control cities. Analysis also found that while the program was more effective in lessening total and property crime rates, it was less so for violent crime rates. It was concluded that strategic and directed policing models (e.g., COMPSTAT, hot spot policing, etc.) may be more effective in crime reduction efforts than reactive policing methods. 1. Introduction Throughout the history of law enforcement in the United States, the manner in which service has been delivered continues to be a tremendous challenge to overcome. It seems that from one generation to the next, police departments, whether through self-direction or external pressures, have been tasked with managing personnel in such a manner in order to continue to meet a given community’s needs, objectives, problems, and directions despite the level of resources made available to them. Typically, each era of policing has come about as a matter of evolution, or what is generally called a period of “reform,” in response to a community’s expectation of the service being provided. If each generation of reform were to be viewed as a paradigm, the movement from one paradigm to another could be referred to as a “paradigm shift,” fueled by a “continued demand for safer, more effective and efficient ways to police communities” ([1], p.53). The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether the introduction of a crime-control model (based in part on the concepts of COMPSTAT) in one southern California city was effective in reducing crime. 2. Paradigms of Policing—Shifting to a New Model One of the first paradigm shifts followed on the heels of political influence and police corruption, which came about in the middle of the 20th century [1–6]. This “professional” model of policing is also recognized as the “rational-legal bureaucratic” model, which valued a centralized and bureaucratic command structure [1]. During the “professional” era, the primary principles associated with this model were the development of
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