When the word “police agency” is mentioned together with “performance measurement” we often think of traditional metrics such as crime rates, number of arrests, and response time minutes. These common metrics correspond with what police agencies are primarily directed to do, which is to protect the public from domestic harm, and the crime rate, arrests and respond times quantify how effective the police force is in performing its duties. However, police agencies have evolved throughout the years, and their services now include counselling to troubled teens, provision of first aid immediate medical care, arbitration for domestic disputes, etc.
The expansion of the role of the police agency requires an expansion in how their performance is measured. Measuring performance is important because of the pressures of budget and cost allocation, the requirements to monitor operations and identify effective police strategies. One of the most effective multidisciplinary performance measures used today is the Balanced Score Card (BSC), which is used by the Dubai Police Force in monitoring their performance. The success of the Dubai Police Force in utilizing the BSC has been widely acclaimed, with the agency presenting its approach in the 2011 symposium on the use of the Balanced Score Card, held in Saudi Arabia.
A study on the methods and approaches of the Dubai Police Force in implementing the prescriptions gathered from the BSC evaluation will determine if this performance measurement approach is the most appropriate to use or if another performance measurement strategy must be undertaken. It is therefore proposed, that an evaluation of the implementing modules be undertaken, compared with industry standards, and evaluated based on expected outcomes be conducted to validate the effectiveness of the BSC approach. This study will utilize scholarly works published on the internet, as well as review the current best practices of other police organizations that have implemented the BSC in measuring their performance.
References
Marx, G. 1976. Alternative Measures of Police Performance. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/alt.html
Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington. 2012. Police and Law Enforcement Performance Standards and Levels of Service. Retrieved from http://www.mrsc.org/subjects/pubsafe/le/le-service.aspx
Rand Corporation. 2012. Selected International Best Practices in Police Performance Measurement. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1153.html
SmartKPIS.com. 2011. Balanced Scorecard Saudi Arabia 2011 – smartKPIs.com correspondence from Riyadh – Day 4. Retrieved from http://www.smartkpis.com/blog/2011/12/
