Do Targeted Arrests Reduce Crime

In January 1998 the New South Wales Police Service introduced a new crime fighting strategy, modelled on the New York 'Compstat' process. The strategy involves a series of 'Operation and Crime Review Panels' (OCRs) in which senior police provide Local Area and Regional Commanders with information on crime trends and patterns in their local area and ask them to devise various tactics and strategies to reduce crime. At a later point in time the same commanders return to the OCR panels and their performance in reducing crime is reviewed by senior management. This paper examines the impact of OCR panels on the rate of recorded incidents for four offence categories in New South Wales. The results suggest that OCR panels have been effective in reducing the incidence of break and enter, motor vehicle theft and armed robbery.

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