NCJ Number
230380
Date Published
2008
Length
77 pages
Annotation
This research report presents the major findings from the second part of a project that tested the feasibility of a measurement framework for use by Australian drug law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
This report presents the results of the second part of a two-stage project conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology to: 1) help provide a better accounting of the $1.7 billion in estimated annual expenditures for drug law enforcement (DLE) in Australia; 2) improve the type and range of performance measures and indicators currently used by Australian DLE agencies; and 3) develop a measurement framework to provide DLE agencies with a consistent and systematic means of assessing and reporting performance and assessing effectiveness. The report is intended as a companion piece to three other reports that provide details on the development and planned implementation of a performance measurement framework for DLE agencies. The report is divided into four chapters that include: chapter 1 - Background on the project; chapter 2 - Recent developments in law enforcement performance measurement; chapter 3 - Implementing a national DLE performance measurement framework; and chapter 4 - Conclusions and future directions. Findings from the implementation trial indicate that the framework provides a way for the whole community to better understand how DLE impacts certain issues such as drug-related public health, that current DLE efforts can be strengthened without imposing a whole new system of data collection and reporting, and that the framework provides a way to build new, more systematic processes from within existing structures and procedures. Figures, references, and appendixes