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Chapter 16
MEASURING PERFORMANCE: ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
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Chapter 16 Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, students will know
• What the basic purpose of evaluation is
• What the three typical forms of inspection are
• Who should conduct a performance appraisal
• What purposes performance appraisals serve and what their main purpose
should be
• How frequently to evaluate performance
• How to evaluate the entire organization
• What accreditation is and who does it
Chapter 16 Outline
Introduction
Evaluation: An Overview
Purposes of Evaluation
Inspection
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Common Types of Performance Evaluations
Ratings by Individual Traits
Evaluation of Managers and Supervisors by Subordinates
Performance Interviews
Guidelines for Conducting Performance Appraisals
Problems of Performance Evaluations
Lack of Faith in Appraisal Systems
Late-Inning Results Count Most
The Halo and Horn Effects
Evaluating Specific Departmental Efforts
Measuring a Department’s Level of Community Policing
Recognizing Value in Policing
Using Internal Surveys to Evaluate an Agency
Evaluating an Agency’s Integrity
Accreditation
Chapter 16 Summary
The basic purpose of evaluation is to determine how well individuals within an agency
and the agency itself are accomplishing its mission and how to make improvements. The
three typical forms of inspections are line inspections, spot inspections and staff
inspections.
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Managers who provide the most immediate direction of subordinates should do the
evaluation. Purposes of evaluation include promoting common understanding of
Job standards make it easier for employees to meet requirements and for managers to
determine whether they have been met. Standards may include areas such as physical
fitness to perform and emotional stability while performing law enforcement tasks;
individual judgment; reliability; loyalty and ability to get along with the public, fellow
employees and managers; creativity and innovation; attitude; knowledge of tasks;
competence; and amount of management required. Law enforcement agencies that do not
have fitness tests, standards or programs may face charges of negligence in hiring,
training, supervision or retention. By-the-numbers evaluation makes evaluation more
objective by using a numerical scale for each dimension.
The performance appraisal interview should help employees do their jobs better and
therefore improve individual performance and productivity. The most common
recommendation for frequency of performance appraisals is twice a year and more
frequently for employees performing below expectations.
Chapter 16 Key Terms
accreditation the process by which an institution or agency proves that it meets
certain standards.
behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) specific characteristics for a position
are determined; employees are then rated against these characteristics by on-the-job
behaviors in each area.
Instructor’s Manual
halo effect tendency to rate one who performs above average in one area above
average in all areas or vice versa.
horn effect allowing one negative trait to influence the rater negatively on other
traits as well.
inferential statistics focus on making statistically educated guesses from a sample
of data.
standards targets to be met, including level of performance.
valid appraisals that are well grounded and sound in which the factors rated are job
related and the raters are trained.
Classroom Discussion Questions
1. Search the Internet and find an article on evaluation in law enforcement. You
might find it under different names, for example, performance appraisals or
assessment. Summarize the article, and include the full reference citation. Be
prepared to share your summary with the class.
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4. Many of us joke about “cops and doughnuts.” Do you think that fitness should be
an aspect of evaluation? If you make it a requirement, how would you help
officer’s maintain fitness levels?
9. Who should rate subordinates? One person or several?
10. What type rating do you like best?
11. What are some uses of performance evaluation?
12. Have you been formally evaluated? What was your opinion of the evaluation?
Should such appraisals be retained?
Student Activities
1. Obtain performance appraisal forms from several law enforcement agencies. How
do they compare? Do they focus on the same major points, or are there significant
differences?
Challenge Sixteen
The Greenfield Police Department requires performance appraisals at the end of each
year. The appraisals use a numerical scale to evaluate several broad areas of performance.
Categories include knowledge of policies, dependability and productivity. The appraisal
forms provide room for optional narratives to explain numeric scores. Supervisors
conduct appraisal interviews with their officers before forwarding the appraisals to the
appropriate manager.
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Detective Quick is one of the most talented detectives in the entire county. He takes on
the most difficult and complex cases with a remarkable success rate. He is well liked in
the community and by fellow officers. He is a credit to the department. Detective Delay
does not make nearly the contribution that Detective Quick makes. He spends a good deal
of time in several local coffee shops, and his fellow officers often say he missed his
calling as a talk show host. Detective Delay is popular and entertaining, but not a great
detective. He is usually assigned simple cases and often needs prodding to turn his cases
in on time.
Challenge Sixteen Questions and Suggested Answers
1. Sergeant Bilko is obviously doing an ineffective job of evaluating his detectives’
performance. Is this a disservice to his detectives?
Yes. By rating everyone the same, Sergeant Bilko is technically rating everyone as
average. It is especially unfair to high performers like Detective Quick who should be
2. Are performance appraisals inherently more difficult for line supervisors like
Sergeant Bilko?
Yes. Line supervisors often work along side their officers and are exposed to the
same hazards. They rely on one another and frequently have personal friendships.
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3. If Sergeant Bilko’s evaluations of his detectives have all been nearly the same for
several years, is someone else failing to do his or her job?
4. Does Detective Delay have a defense against any action the department may take
against him for performance deficiencies?
Yes. Since Detective Delay has consistently received above-average performance
5. Suggest some changes to improve the Greenfield Police Department’s performance
appraisal system.
As previously discussed, the rating system should accurately reflect performance. In
addition, the performance categories should correspond closely to activities that help