Summary
This report examines what performance indicators (PIs) could be used to assess crime prevention effectiveness within UK police forces. The use of Key Performance Indicators for a variety of police services was introduced by the 1993 White Paper on Police Reform (Cm 2281). At that time, no high level indicator was available for crime prevention performance; this report is a preliminary step towards identification of such an indicator. Chapter 2 looks briefly at what performance indicators can – and cannot – be expected to do. Chapter 3 reviews the particular difficulties which have been met in efforts to devise high level performance indicators for crime prevention, and highlights shortcomings in most of the current contenders. Chapter 4 discusses in some detail repeat victimisation as a possible KPI, since this, whilst not without problems, appears currently to be the most plausible candidate. Chapter 5 considers some objections to the use of repeat victimisation as a KPI, while chapter 6 presents some possibilities for PIs for use within individual forces.
Contents
1. Introduction – 2. Performance indicators for performance indicators – 2.1. What PIs can and cannot do – 2.2. PI dangers – 2.3. PI benchmarks – 2.4. The ideal : PI in the sky? – 3. Difficulties in developing national crime prevention KPIs -- 4. Repeat victimisation as a KPI – 4.1. Measurement problems – 4.2. Crimes to include in a repeat victimisation PI – 4.3. Aggregating results and creating league tables – 4.4. Problems in identifying repeat victims – 4.5. Prevalence rates: an essential PI bonus – 5. A repeat victimisation KPI : some objections – 6. Crime prevention PIs within forces – 6.1. Partnership work -- 6.2. Crime prevention officers.