Crime remains a top concern for Americans. Yes, murder rates have come down from their pandemic-era highs — but they are still far above where they should be. At the same time, cities are running out of money.
From New York to Los Angeles, budgets are tightening as federal aid disappears and revenues soften. Police departments are being asked to do more — with fewer officers.
That reality isn’t changing — so the question isn’t whether we can spend more. It’s whether we can get smarter about how we use what we already have. The answer is yes — because we’ve done it before.
Between us, we’ve spent decades leading two of the nation’s largest police departments — the NYPD and LAPD — and we’ve seen firsthand how performance can vary within policing.
When one of us (Corey) joined the NYPD in the late 1980s, the job was largely reactive. Officers responded to calls, took reports, and moved on.
By the time the other (Bratton) became commissioner in 1994, that mindset began to change — and it changed fast. We introduced CompStat, a system using real-time data, accountability, and focused deployment. Precinct commanders were expected to know what was happening in their areas — and to act.
That shift — from reactive to proactive policing — transformed New York City. Crime, including murder, dropped by more than 80% over the next two decades. And disorder decreased greatly. We saw the same thing in L.A. When those same principles were applied at the LAPD, violent crime fell dramatically. Different city, same lesson: how you manage matters.
And here’s the key point — those gains weren’t driven by massive increases in spending. They were driven by better use of existing resources. That lesson matters more now than ever.
Today, departments across the country are stretched thin. In Los Angeles, staffing shortages have forced difficult decisions about coverage. In New York, overtime costs continue to climb even as headcount struggles to keep pace.
Cities cannot spend their way out of this problem. But they don’t have to. There is still enormous inefficiency in the criminal justice system. Some departments achieve far better results than others with the same — or fewer — resources. The same is true for courts and prosecutors.
Take pretrial decisions. Judges must determine whether someone is likely to reoffend or fail to appear in court. Too often, low-risk individuals are detained while higher-risk individuals are released. That’s not just a fairness issue. It’s a public safety issue — and a resource issue. That tells us something important: high performance is not about luck. It’s about leadership, training, and systems.
That’s the idea behind the Policing Leadership Academy, a partnership with the University of Chicago Crime Lab. The program equips police commanders with the tools to run modern, data-driven organizations.
The early results are promising. Departments are showing that when leaders use data effectively, deploy resources strategically, and hold teams accountable, crime can be reduced. And the cost? Minimal compared to what cities already spend.
This approach shouldn’t stop at policing. Courts, prosecutors, and public defenders should be held to the same standard: better outcomes with smarter use of resources.
Americans want safer streets. Cities need to control spending. Those goals are not in conflict. We’ve seen what works — in New York, in Los Angeles, and across the country. The tools are there. The playbook is proven. Now it’s time to use it.
Bratton twice served as NYPD commissioner, LAPD chief, and serves as an advisor to the Policing Leadership Academy. Corey served as NYPD chief of department and is the executive director of the Policing Leadership Academy.