Policing Performance: The Impact of Performance Measures and Targets on Police Forces in England and Wales

• NCJ Number: 216850
• Journal: International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: Winter 2006 Pages: 282-293
• Author(s): Barry Loveday
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article analyzes how the New Labour Government’s commitment to performance measures for public services impacts the police service in England and Wales.

Abstract

The analysis indicated that the commitment to performance targets is a serious problem for the police service in England and Wales because these performance targets now determine much of the daily operational work of individual police officers. This becomes problematic when officers narrowly focus their efforts on meeting targets set for them rather than on meeting the varied needs of the public. The author points out that it actually makes sense for officers to focus on performance targets rather than service to the public because officers receive department accolades for meeting performance targets but do not receive similar kudos from the public. Additionally, the management orientation for the new performance measurement strategy is top-down, which has encouraged an intrusive use of regulators and auditing regimes to ensure service conformity across police departments. This reliance on regulators and auditing regimes has had the unintended consequence of impacting the role and purpose of management within the police sector. Police managers are now driven by the need to achieve centrally set performance targets rather than the need to improve the effectiveness of police services to the public. This type of police management has been criticized as having a negative impact on police integrity. The author suggests that the solution lies in the willingness of the New Labour government to accept the supposition that public services are “complex human activity systems” that cannot be reasonably managed through the application of crude performance targets. However, if performance targets are to be kept in place, it is suggested that the development and management of performance targets should be focused on matters of immediate local concern and should be built on effective local partnership arrangements. Note, references