NCJ Number
84794
Journal
Urban Interest Issue: 4, N 1 Dated: (Spring 1982) Pages: 34-40
Date Published
1982
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The use of supervisor personnel ratings for agency performance measurement of police departments is preferable to other, more elaborate evaluation techniques.
Abstract
The method is preferable to, for instance, citizen satisfaction surveys and process and impact measures, because it is relatively low cost, subject to ready institutionalization in the agency's ongoing system of activities, and is a form of data that is relevant and believable to police practitioners themselves. Most departments already practice some form of supervisory rating for personnel evaluation and some have already invested time and resources in the training of supervisory personnel in performance appraisal. Their use in more formal agency performance measurement would require the introduction of behaviorally anchored rating scales and other newly developed mechanisms for injecting objectivity into an already established personnel practice. Additional training in performance appraisal and motivation of supervisors may also be required to minimize the tendency of such reports to reflect personal bias. Footnotes and 16 references are given.