An Eightfold Path Toward Police Performance Indicators

Dr. Gholamhossein Biabani; Secretary of the Iranian Association for the Development of Detective Science and Innovation Studies

Just as the society being policed changes, policing itself also changes, and the pace of change is accelerating; in the future, this need will be greater than ever. Therefore,

despite their undesirable effects, there are serious grounds to consider that the use of performance indicators will not diminish in the future. Technological advances will lead to new software that is more comprehensive in terms of available data and ease of use.

This political pressure and its consequences in terms of managerial accountability must continue. Consequently, thinking about the challenges for the coming years requires taking this trend into account and considering how adaptation can occur in order to improve the quality of police organizations.

Here, we describe an approach consisting of nine different elements. These include a broad definition of performance, qualitative criteria, performance processes, meaningfulness, professionalism, a long-term approach, localism, and problem-solving. Each of these is described in detail.

First, the police must adapt to a broader definition of performance rather than a narrower one. If our understanding of performance is “good policing activity,” then a more holistic approach to how performance is assessed must be adopted. Senior police managers, in particular, must be careful to think about policing in broader terms and to consider the potential negative effects of performance management.

A policing approach grounded in legitimacy is a fundamental requirement. Therefore, performance indicators should not be limited to crime, nor should they be confined solely to internal police measures. Let us recall, for example, that in most countries there is no measure of user satisfaction. Indicators must go beyond policing activities related solely to crime.

Second, police managers must also pay attention to qualitative dimensions. Defining the concept of quality is difficult, but it refers to aspects of activity that cannot easily be reduced to measurable indicators. Consider the following example: a police officer may carry out a large number of arrests, but this says nothing about the quality of those arrests (for example, the quality of interactions with the arrested individual, and so forth).

This leads us to the third necessary issue: “outcomes” (for example, defined in terms of reductions in crime rates) are not, in this sense, appropriate indicators of performance. An officer (or an organization) may achieve targets simply due to good fortune.

Therefore, processes must be given importance alongside outcomes. What processes (in terms of analysis, strategy design, evaluation, and so on) are implemented in the workplace to address a particular problem? Police officers should be held accountable for outputs rather than outcomes, and for the quality of their processes rather than raw results.

Fourth, statistical data in itself does not give meaning to policing activity. The role of managers at all levels of the hierarchy is to give meaning to the activities of their subordinates. In order to be leaders (in the broadest sense of the term), they must be able to provide meaning (within the framework of policing activity) to those they lead. Data facilitates analysis and supports strategy, but members cannot create a strategy in this way alone.

Fifth, the preceding points imply that policing must be carried out on the basis of the professional nature of its mission. The risk of management by numbers leads to increased centralization and the disempowerment of officers.

Professional standards (based on personal attributes, capacities, and specific skills) must be defined, within which decision-making authority is exercised. Standards of professional practice must take precedence over organizational constraints.

Sixth, due to the transformation of data systems, these “numbers” (that is, quantitative indicators relating to various aspects of policing activity such as crime trends, arrest rates, available resources, and so forth) are increasingly available in the short term.

Police officers at all levels of the hierarchy may check their “results” on a daily basis, despite all the negative consequences associated with this practice. Police managers and analysts must analyze crime trends, define medium-term objectives, solve problems in a sustainable manner, and resist the temptation of short-term results.

Seventh, the risk associated with the use of performance indicators arises when data are manipulated, inaccurate, or provide a distorted representation of reality. The more data are removed from their context, the more likely they are to be misinterpreted.

Data must be interpreted within their specific context. Centralized management may overlook this necessary contextualization. Local context is essential for solving policing problems.

Eighth, problem-solving often requires multi-agency action. The use of performance indicators must avoid turning the police organization inward upon itself. Police managers must reflect on the limitations of their own indicators and consider shared indicators with their partners. In other words, in order to serve better, the police must be particularly aware and resist the temptation of performance indicators that are easy to measure.

Overall, these principles apply particularly to policing, where a focus on a “results-based culture” or on “performance” leads to a weak definition of what police performance should be. However, these principles have a broader scope. Performance indicators are a means for policing, not an end in themselves. They should provide information, help articulate strategies, and evaluate actions taken.

“All bureaucracies run the risk of becoming so absorbed in managing organizations and so preoccupied with operational procedures that they lose sight of the original goals for which they were created. The police are unusually exposed to this phenomenon.” The ease with which performance indicators can be manipulated leads to an excessive simplification of policing activity.

Problem-orientation, a long-term approach, localization, and professional practice are essential conditions for appropriate contemporary policing.