Balanced Scorecard and Police

A performance measurement system for State Government Agencies that derives benefits through the combination of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) methodology and knowledge management (KM) practices. In the recent time we can observe many success stories of various Government Agencies using the Balanced Scorecard, and can see how they are complementing each other by fabulous results. Frankly speaking Balanced Scorecard and Police are no exception here. There are many case instances, rather success stories of Balanced Scorecard and Police in many states.

Primarily the Balanced Scorecard was designed for the private sector in mind. In many governmental organizations, early pioneers struggled with the adaptation of the concept to their constituencies. Government Agencies and the Balanced Scorecard are gaining popularity as Government Agencies are no strangers to performance measurement, and understand the difficulties inherent in measuring the impact of government policy on various stakeholders; it is understandable that any new or innovative approach to measurement will garner cautious attention. The trick however, learned by many who have attempted to introduce the balanced scorecard approach in government, is to exploit its two main benefits:

Accountability: It assists your organization to prove that it is doing what it said it would do, and achieving what it said it would achieve

Improvement: It assists your organization to improve, by gaining an ever deeper understanding of the linkages between the outcomes it is achieving, the outcomes it desires and the drivers of those outcomes. Change a driver on your scorecard, and you change the outcomes.

Police reform, emerging performance assessment regimes and the increasing expectations of citizens will result in exacting performance standards and clear league tables, with every force and command unit labeled according to its performance record and its capacity to improve and this lead to the new concept called Balanced Scorecard and Police.

Exacting performance standards and the capacity to improve are the dominating factors in police performance management. These performance ‘labels’ will not only determine the freedoms and flexibilities that forces can enjoy, but will also make or break the reputations of individual forces and individual officers. For those judged to be the worst-performing, there is likely to be a raft of new intervention measures potentially involving outside agents appointed by Central Government to run failing BCUs - a model that is now becoming increasingly familiar within local government.

But to focus only on the negative is to give an unbalanced view of the reform and the opportunities that it presents to the police service and the benefits that seizing these can bring. Taking control of the agenda will enable your force to seize the opportunities that exist in a proactive way i.e. Balanced Scorecard and Police.

According to “Taking control of police reform-Policing a new century” a report by Price Waterhouse Coopers, the company claims to help police in many areas where constant monitoring and performance measurement is required, like they can help in:

Leadership and capacity building: The changing agenda highlights what many forces have recognized for some time, that current capacity and capability do not always match the key new skills required in areas such as procurement, partnership working, performance management, project management and in new technologies.

They can enhance your capacity to improve by many Balanced Scorecard and Police initiatives like:

·       Assessing whether your capacity building strategies fit with your vision and organization objectives

·       Identifying the knowledge and skills that the force currently has

·       Building capacity from within with tailored development solutions

·       Locating key external expertise from our clients and contacts across the UK and beyond

·       Supporting police authorities in maximizing the effectiveness of their roles and relationships

They can also help in Performance and information management systems using Balanced Scorecard and Police: PricewaterhouseCoopers has an unrivalled presence in performance improvement and they recognize the challenge for police leaders is to ensure performance improvement becomes part of organizational culture. Their solutions can directly help those forces seeking to improve with both strategic and targeted services. Rather than focus on a single tool or technique, they use a range of diagnostics to support you in analyzing the key performance issues and put in place improvement strategies. Their service package includes:

·       Performance management assessments and diagnostics including their Excelsior diagnostic tool visit www.excelsior.pwcglobal.com

·       Performance management system design (including the Balanced Scorecard)

·       Data collection and quality assessments

·       Performance monitoring ICT solutions

·       Performance improvement linked to your inspection and Best Value programs

Never has there been a time when information demands were so great, yet pressures on resources are equally demanding. An effective information system is becoming increasingly recognized as a major factor influencing a force’s overall performance and reputation.

Yet, far too often they see clients spending all of their effort and resources on data collection and very little on the actual interpretation and use of the data to take positive management decisions. They can carry out a current status check of your information flows and work with you to develop a tailored reporting suite designed for each level of your organization. As part of this, they can explore your information system requirements, considering new and innovative delivery options that shift the balance from collection to action.

Let’s see some real life stories of Balanced Scorecard and Police. The main impetus of the Finnish police organizations’ decision to adopt the Balanced Scorecard model in 2000 was the need to improve the strategic management of the police and policing, and to develop a more appropriate and comprehensive assessment tool.

Inside the organization, also the challenge to improve the management by results–steering system has been one of the main drivers. The police in Finland have a three-tier organization; at the top is the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior, below it is the Provincial Police Commands and the National Units. The third level is the Local Police, who fall administratively under the State Local Districts.