Program name: Community Mapping, Planning & Analysis for
Safety Strategies (COMPASS)
Sponsoring agency: U.S. Department of Justice
Program description: To create safer and more livable
communities, that will use knowledge to develop interventions aimed
at increasing public safety. COMPASS promotes collaborative
problem-solving based on a rich, comprehensive Geographic
Information System that feeds information to local councils. The
system features a predictive mapping component that will enable
policymakers to determine crime hot spots and other relationships
between crime and place; crime and time, etc., are about to emerge
in order to prevent them. COMPASS also has a data collection
component, which includes drug use data (from arrestees, through the
ADAM program), local surveys, incident based crime data, gun
tracing, and a long menu of neighborhood surveys from which
decisionmakers may incorporate, potentially including the
"Communities That Care" juvenile survey, measures of collective
efficacy and asset mapping.
COMPASS includes a regional analysis element to encourage
jurisdictions to look beyond their administrative boundaries and
coordinate efforts with neighboring agencies when analyzing crime
problems and developing interventions. COMPASS is not designed
around one specific crime problem, but serves as a resource and
supports a collaborative effort across all community public safety
issues.
Who is eligible to get funds from this project?
Communities will compete to participate in COMPASS.
What types of projects are eligible? Communities (through
the mayor or county executive) will be eligible to apply.
Competitive proposals will involve broad collaboration among local
organizations, government, and a research partner, and a
problem-solving, information-driven approach to enhancing public
safety.
What funds are available? The President's Budget for
Fiscal Year 2001 requests $10 million to start the COMPASS program.
However, the actual amount will be determined by Congressional
action. Federal financial support for COMPASS will vary from site to
site depending on the jurisdiction's existing data sources and
information technology systems.
How can we apply? You can contact Eric Dalton ( daltona@ojp.usdoj.gov, 202
514-5752) or Laura Winterfield ( winterfi@ojp.usdoj.gov, 202
616-3482).
Program Example: The National Institute of Justice and its
partners in the Office of Justice Programs conducted a competition
of selected cities to choose the initial pilot COMPASS site (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/fundcompass.html).
Seattle, Washington, was chosen because of its leadership, capacity
for innovation, and history of problem solving in previous public
safety related initiatives.
The Mayor's Office is taking the leading role in managing
COMPASS. Other major stakeholders in Seattle include the City
Council; the Police Department; the Chief Technology Office ; the
U.S. Attorney's Office; the Department of Corrections; the County
Public Health Department; local schools and hospital emergency
rooms; Neighborhood Action Teams (NAT'S); local Block Watches; other
county, city, and Federal agencies; and private and nonprofit
partners.
The primary goal for Seattle is to use the COMPASS approach to
help policymakers and local communities develop proactive strategies
to address public safety problems. For example, Seattle's Block
Watchers, which were created in Seattle in the early 1970's to be
the "eyes and ears" of the police department, will use public safety
data generated through COMPASS to understand and respond to problems
in Seattle's neighborhood.
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Last Modified: June 23,
2000
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