Explain your plan to prevent crime statistic manipulation by the NYPD (New York Police Department).

A 2012 study by criminologist Eli Silverman and retired police captain John Eterno found evidence of widespread crime report manipulation amongst NYPD officers. The officers downgraded crimes and encouraged people to file reports of lesser crimes using a computer system called CompStat to compile this data.

There are several different ways that the police might implement reforms to reduce the probability of crime statistic manipulation. For example, an outside agency might be required to verify...

A 2012 study by criminologist Eli Silverman and retired police captain John Eterno found evidence of widespread crime report manipulation amongst NYPD officers. The officers downgraded crimes and encouraged people to file reports of lesser crimes using a computer system called CompStat to compile this data.

There are several different ways that the police might implement reforms to reduce the probability of crime statistic manipulation. For example, an outside agency might be required to verify the statistics independently. When police are filing crime reports, these reports might have to be validated by this outside agency. The outside agency could validate each report or carry out spot checks of certain reports to make sure that the police are reporting crime data accurately.

In addition, many critics, including Silverman, have suggested that the NYPD stop measuring its success merely based on numbers. It is this culture that makes cops feel pressured not to report crimes or to downgrade the seriousness of crime when compiling reports. Instead, Silverman suggests, the NYPD might measure its success in other ways, such as by professionalism or its adherence to the Constitution. You might have other ideas about how to prevent crime statistic manipulation by the NYPD.