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NYPD systematically games CompStat, their defect tracking system (nytimes.com)

8 points by OllieJones ↗ HN
It looks like a self-defeating practice of bad software development teams has hit the big time. The managers of the police department of New York City are, according to this newspaper article, systematically under-reporting crimes to make themselves look good. This CompStat system, before they figured out how to manipulate it, was successful at helping the NYPD allocate their officers to where they were really needed. But no more.

3 comments

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danso
This is sickening at all levels.

From the police officer who shirks their duty to serve and protect out of bureaucratic cowardice and laziness. The administrators who don't seem too curious to find out if the 21st century has yet invented a better, more convenient way for officers to log crimes. And of course, the politicians and higher-ups who think that crime numbers can and must perpetually slink toward zero.

Most alarming is the lack of our authorities to grasp cause and effect and basic statistics. The article notes that crime has fallen so low that even one felony causes a stir. I'm just a citizen but even I know that shit happens. Moreover, when crime reaches a low enough point, policing effectiveness may not be the main factor in crime occurrence...things like infrastructure (e.g. night lights) and social spending may be more of a determinant

GiraffeNecktie
Is this the fate of all management reporting systems? I work for a large government department that has a project "dashboard" (actually a big ugly mess o' spreadsheet) that is supposed to show senior executives which projects are falling behind. Of course, the dashboard is totally gamed to always show everything as 'green' no matter how far behind and overspent the project is. The easiest way of doing that is by quietly descoping what used to be critical requirements (i.e. the stuff that would make it actually usable by the people on the front line). The senior executives get their performance bonuses, the middle managers get promoted, the IT staff get to keep their jobs. Everyone's happy (except the people who have to use and support these three legged dogs)
pasbesoin
"This American Life" had a segment some months (a few years?) back that covered this from the perspective of a cop who documented it and was ultimately, incorrectly committed to a mental hospital by his superiors in a horrible attempt at intimidation and control.

Absolutely disgusting. But also part of a number of things / instances of reporting that have made clear to me that such things are not unusual.