Philadelphia Weekly

In less than a decade CompStat became as central to policing in America as handcuffs and pepper spray.

Widely credited with reducing crime in New York, the method of breaking down crime statistics on a block-by-block basis started in the mid-'90s and was imported to Philly by former police commissioner John Timoney. The weekly sessions bring together district captains and top police brass for Q&A sessions designed to make commanders absolutely accountable for crime in the streets they're charged with protecting. But the city's police union says those meetings, which were closed to the press last October, should be much larger.

"I think other city agencies should be present," says Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) president Bobby Eddis. "The police aren't the only solution in stopping crime, and it would be much easier for the department to leverage those other resources if they were there in the room."

A big part of CompStat's appeal has always been that it increases accountability, says Eddis. A district captain called on the carpet for a wave of robberies will work hard to make sure the numbers are better the next time. "But is CompStat being used only as a tool to hold district commanders accountable?" he says. "All across the country, CompStat has become a whipping post for district commanders."

In HBO's The Wire, CompStat meetings are also the place where numbers get twisted to reflect political realities.

Eddis says the Health Department, Licenses and Inspections, and the Department of Human Services "should all play a role--everyone should have a stake in bringing Philadelphia's crime down."

FOP spokesperson Eugene Blagmond seconds his boss' motion. "CompStat isn't as productive as it could be if other agencies were included. Right now, with just the commanders, it's more like a game of stump the chump."

But police commissioner Sylvester Johnson says bringing in those agencies would be a "waste of their time."

CompStat meetings are about "police issues." They include confidential material. And much of the information would be irrelevant to other city agencies.

"The police department has a good relationship right now with the Department of Licenses and Inspections," says Johnson. "I don't supervise them, and they don't supervise the police."

Furthermore, Johnson thinks the FOP must be talking about the CompStat meetings that took place several years ago. "I think you used to have people in there asking questions just to be asking questions," says Johnson. "They were embarrassing the captains needlessly, asking them about things they didn't even need to know to reduce crime, asking them for addresses of criminals or a suspect's exact name. And the captains were trying so hard to prepare they were coming in with binders the size of phone books. But I changed all that."

This might seem like an odd time to be having such a debate.

Last fall some police started publicly complaining that what had once been a tough-minded approach to crime reduction had been rendered soft by a police commissioner who seemed too worried about his command staff's feelings. "CompStat lite," they called it.

But then again this is exactly the time these kinds of debates tend to be held. With Michael Nutter fresh off winning the Democratic nomination for mayor, now is exactly the time to get ideas on his radar.

"I've spoken to Michael Nutter about this idea," says Eddis. "We had numerous discussions prior to the campaign, and we'll have numerous discussions, I'm sure, now that it's over. And I think he's receptive to ideas. He wants to solve the city's problems."

Nutter didn't return phone calls requesting comment on the issue of CompStat.

The office of Mayor John Street also failed to return phone calls.

But the commish himself might not be above sending messages either. "Have you heard of CitiStat?" asks Johnson. "What they do in Baltimore?" That program brings together all of Baltimore's department heads, including the police, for a once-a-month CompStat-style battle royale. "That's not a decision for me to make, but it would be something for the managing director here to consider."