Measuring the Performance

I. INTRODUCTION

This is the first segment of a two-part article on measuring the performance of law enforcement agencies. It is written for a policing audience, and draws in part on my discussions with members of CALEA’s Performance Measurement Subcommittee and those who have attended my training workshops at the last two CALEA Conferences. In this first segment, I introduce the general concepts, terminology, and history of comparative performance measurement in policing. The second segment, which will appear in the next edition of the CALEA Update, will show you how to develop, pilot-test, and implement comparative performance measurement in your agency. This article is one small part of a larger effort by CALEA to explore the feasibility and utility of agency-level performance measurement in policing. That journey is just beginning, and will proceed slowly, but it is expected to be a worthwhile one...