Management Accountability in Policing, Business and the Public Sector - Book Report/Review Example

? The Compstat Paradigm: Management Accountability in Policing, Business and the Public Sector Introduction The book, “The Compstat Paradigm: Management Accountability in Policing, Business and the Public Sector” by Vincent E. Henry is a wonderful document on the transition of most developing criminal cities into safest contours and flourishing cities of the world. The book is an in-depth study of the means and agents pertaining to the fighting of crime and it would be sheer injustice in appreciation of the text if one truly misses out its way of deliverance of the facts captivated within rising to a next higher level of mere case studies only. The book is a complete field tested and ready for action blue-print against fighting crime. Compstat is a highly effectual and management model or it can be viewed as a paradigm which was first crafted and developed within the system of the New York Police Department (NYPD). It was introduced in the year 1994 and since the time of its initiation it has become one of the most effective and systematic processes that manipulates and maintains the rate of crime and helps to enhance the quality of life in the city of New York. There is hardly any other book that throws much knowledge on this compstat based management process as is widely discussed, handled and experimented in the book by Vincent E. Henry (Henry, n.d.). Published in the month of March in the year, 2001 by Looseleaf Law Publication, the book “The Compstat Paradigm” captures enough ideation and discussion pertaining the way the principles of compstat were successfully incorporated into the process of regulating crime and enforcing better life in the New York City. Reviewing the Compstat Paradigm: Management Accountability in Policing, Business and Public Sector The 360 pages of insightful delegation on the Compstat process definitely forms one of the most comprehensive and detailed descriptions of compstat ever available. The book successfully provides the best overview of the implementation and incorporation of the process and its development in the maintenance of the law and order of the New York City inherent in the New York City Police Department. Actually the amount of detailing on the process of compstat mentioned in this book and its elaborate manifestation along with an impeccable series of case studies and field studies is only possible through the veteran guidance and scholastic inputs of Vincent E. Henry who has been working as an associate professor and director at the Homeland Security Management Institute under the Long Island University (Homeland Security University Programs, 2010). The book “The Compstat Paradigm” has a very well knitted anatomy which appears before its readers as a reader friendly version. The book is divided into ten neat chapters and apart from these chapters the book contains a ‘Foreword’ and ‘About the Author’ in the beginning and a ‘Bibliography and Reference Cited’ at the end which makes a complete approach to the subject delineated in the book. The ten chapters bear the following titles which are quite apt with the subject content of those respective chapters; ‘Introduction and Overview’, ‘Management Theory’, ‘The Legacy of the Professional Model’ , ‘The History of the Community Policing and Problem in the NYPD’ , ‘The High-Performance Police Organization’ , ‘The Mechanics of Change –Organizational Diagnosis, Reengineering and Crime Control Strategies’, ‘The Compstat Process: Communication, Information, Accountability and Results’, ‘Beyond Policing: Applying Compstat in Security Management’, ‘The Future of Compstat’ and ‘The Compstat Paradigm: Summary of Basic Principles and Precepts’ (Henry, 2002). It is very important and worthy to note that Vincent Henry has been a street cop and he is associated with New York Police Department for a long time and the amount of experience he had gathered during the tenure of his profession has made him a veteran in the field of crime perception. There is hardly any other person in the profession who can show the amount of insight regarding the perception of crime and development of New York’s lifestyle as Vincent has testified in this enriched text. The way the compstat was developed and reinforced into making the lifestyle of the New York citizen better have been all mentioned in the book elaborately and Vincent Henry is the perfect person to trace the trajectory of compstat’s development and the procedure of its implementation in the management system of NYPD. Therefore, as an author only the academic credentials of Vincent Henry cannot be the point of contention, his experience and on field perception regarding the crime and its mode of occurrence is a worthy point of consideration as well. The author of the book has enough knowledge on the history of the agencies at the same time has a clear perception pertaining to the personalities involved in the development of the Compstat. An outsider to the regime might miss the subtle and intricate perspectives involved in collaboration of the operations of NYPD and Compstat but a person who is inherent into the system and working for its betterment since the days of its initiation shall never miss any intricacies related with it. The book, “The Compstat Paradigm” is an example of such phenomenon. Therefore, the book, “The Compstat Paradigm” is far beyond a mere descriptive propaganda for the development of Compstat and its operations. It is a book that encapsulates the history and the development of NYPD over past two decades as well. The book helps to understand the historical and political perspective involved in the manifestation and development of Compstat and the political and personal power related with the development of Compstat process. This facet is one of the most unique features available and designed regarding the subject of Compstat and this feature makes the book different in appeal and outlook as well. The book, “The Compstat Paradigm” is well written and neatly edited. The language of the book is simple and terse and the sentences lucid which makes it very reader friendly book. The author of the book has very consciously avoided technical jargons at many places in the book and this does not baffle the readers who are laymen or reading first time something related to the subject. The book is often compared with the “NYPD Battles Crime” by Eli Silverman or another exuberant book on the subject, “Managing Police Operations: Implementing the NYPD Crime Control Model Using Compstat” by Phyllis Parshall McDonald but no one can ignore the charm and the comprehensive discussion about the Compstat captivated within the pages of the book, “The Compstat Paradigm” by Vincent Henry. The book does not captivate the growth, initiation and operations pertaining to the Compstat only, the book meticulously involves a thorough reviewing of the recent management theory related to the public and business administration as well. A large portion of the book can be found dedicated to the recent management theories and the way these principles are related to the formation and development of the Compstat. The book is well articulated in terms of its anatomy as well. The implementation and a thorough discussion of the compstat model are found only after the sixth chapter of the book. The first six chapters of the book are dedicated to the comprehension of the history of the compstat theory and the management model involved in formation of it. Next chapters are found describing the four principles involved in the Compstat model. Among many advantageous and unique features of the book, the most fascinating is the last and the tenth chapter of the book bearing the title, “The Compstat Paradigm: Summary of Basic Principles and Precepts” which yields a comprehensive and terse summary of the Compstat model and the four basic principles on which it operates more perfectly than any other book on Compstat. Conclusion The book is the best overview of Compstat model, its formation, history, development and implementation are all integrated and explained thoroughly throughout the book. It is definitely worth investing time, energy and money behind such a valuable and enlightening text on Compstat theory and its manifestation (Henry, 2002). References Henry, V. E. (n.d.). Managing crime and quality of life using Compstat: Specific issues in implementation and practice. Retrieved from http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No68/No68_12VE_Henry2.pdf Henry, V. E. (2002). The compstat paradigm: Management accountability in policing, business and the public sector. New York: Looseleaf Law Publications. Homeland Security University Programs. (2010). Vincent E. Henry, PhD. Retrieved from http://www.orau.gov/DHSsummit/speaker_bios/henry.htm Read More