Beyond crime rates and community surveys: a new approach to police accountability and performance measurement

Abstract

In this conceptual piece, we argue that the current approach to police performance measurement typically based on the use of traditional police metrics has failed to achieve the desired results and that a different strategy is required. Traditional police metrics have a narrow focus on crime and the police response to it. They provide little information on how well police organizations are performing. Importantly, traditional police metrics do not incorporate input from police stakeholders in goal identification, nor do they use specifically designed indicators to assess progress towards achieving these goals. Following an analysis of the criticisms levelled at the use of traditional police metrics, and subsequent attempts to address these issues, we argue that a networked governance approach represents a more promising foundation for undertaking police organizational performance assessment. Such an approach would engage stakeholders more directly in goal identification and performance assessment, and potentially lead to more successful, responsive and accountable policing.

The Observational Socio-Economic Study and Impact on the International Innovative Leadership in the United States

“…These studies support this research topic to be explored, the effects of public policy leader's diversity management leadership initiatives and leadership on perceived effective policing: Legrand and Bronitt (2012), Coleman (2012). Tiwana et al (2015), Sparrow (2015) and Tozlu and Tuzen (2016). These studies agree that the research topic is worth studying because; leadership can affect the effectiveness of the public policy and because current mechanisms and initiatives used to increase public policy effectiveness are insufficient and limited.…”

“…This narrow context often exasperates multicultural communities because of the perceptions or reality of unequal treatment and a lack of understanding of the daily strife minorities' encounter. Sparrow (2015) explains this relationship explicitly:…”

“…It has been tradition particularly in policing and the public sector that narrow measurements continue to be monitored painting only a partial picture of how the organization is operating and its effectiveness and employee behavior. Sparrow (2015) outlines this when he wrote:…”

Performance Management and the Police Response to Women in India

“…For instance, one study found that frontline officers were "largely oblivious to Compstat, and that it intrudes little, if at all, into their daily work" (Weisburd et al 2003, p. 449). Other performance management strategies for reducing crime have also been proposed, both for crime in general and for specific types of crime (Hodgkinson et al 2019;Santos 2013;Stanko 2007).…”

A meta-analysis of the impact of community policing on crime reduction

“…Its impact on reducing crime or crime clearance rates is far from being decisively clear. Traditional police performance metrics have included crime rates, clearance rates, response times, and productivity or workload statistics, especially where the agency's organizational culture emphasizes crime fighting (Hodgkinson et al, 2019). Community policing models are difficult to reconcile with the effectiveness measures used by traditional models because of the proactive aims of CP to prevent crime, increase citizens' quality of life, and reduce fear of crime.…”