LAPD Partners with Community to Fight Crime, REAL Time

April 2, 2003

 
Who:
Los Angeles City Mayor James Hahn, Los Angeles Chief of Police William J. Bratton, Bishop Charles E. Blake, Rev. Eugene F. Rivers and More than 100 Faith Leaders from The Southern California Area.

 

What:
Los Angeles Police Department Community COMPSTAT Meeting.
When:
Thursday, April 3, 2003, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Where:
West Los Angeles Church of God in Christ, 3045 South Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles

Los Angeles: Consistent with the Department’s desire to engage the community in our endeavor to making Los Angeles the safest big City in America, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will, on Thursday April 3rd, host its first community COMPSTAT meeting.
COMPSTAT, an acronym for "Computer Statistics", is a computer-based technology that gives the LAPD’s management team the ability to identify, track and define issues pertaining to crime and quality of life in "real" time. This system provides a wealth of data, and allows the Department to make the most efficient use of limited personnel resources by rapidly deploying officers to the areas when and where they are most needed. Chief William Bratton originally developed COMPSTAT as a crime-fighting tool when he served as Commissioner of the New York City Police Department. In the past, community members were given limited access to [COMPSTAT] the LAPD’s former FASTRAC meetings. However, in keeping with Chief Bratton’s commitment to develop an air of transparency within the Department, the LAPD has embarked on a course that will allow Los Angeles Area community leaders to see first hand what type of crime is occurring in their community and provide insight on how best to address the issues.
COMPSTAT is the actualization of the partnership professed in the "Ten Point Plan; a Plan originally introduced by the Reverend Eugene F. Rivers in 1991. Los Angeles Chief of Police William Bratton emphasized, "Given the relatively small size of the LAPD and the magnitude of the gang violence problem we face, there is no city in America more dependent on its community to work hand in hand with the police to solve crimes. This meeting is the first I know of anywhere, where the community is coming en masse to help us solve crimes. This is community policing as it was originally intended; police and the community in partnership; focused on addressing crime and the instances of disorder that threaten the safety and quality of life of all law-abiding people." Los Angeles City Mayor James Hahn added, "Uniting COMPSTAT with Reverend River’s Ten Point System is an innovative and holistic approach to reducing gang violence in the City of Los Angeles. Increased collaboration and partnership between our police officers and the communities they serve is an integral component of our strategy to reduce crime in Los Angeles."
Chief Bratton, emphasizing the point that no child should have to live in a neighborhood where gang members lure them into a life of violence, destruction and death, went on to state, "We will combine the resources of the police with the influence and outreach abilities of the ecumenical community to ensure that no child has to live in fear, in any of our neighborhoods."
Members of the media are invited to attend this first ever Community COMPSTAT meeting.
This media advisory was prepared by Lieutenant Horace E. Frank, Officer in Charge, Media Relations Section, 213-485-3586.