Testing a typology of police performance measures: an empirical study of police service

This research tests a typology used to classify performance measures used in local police departments. This typology classifies performance measures into three categories or domains: objective output measures, objective outcome measures, and subjective outcome measures. Using survey data, the authors test the hypothesis that public officials' preferences of police performance measures can be measured by this three-domain typology and that their preferences can be grouped as output oriented, objective outcome oriented, or subjective outcome oriented. The results indicate that local officials' preferences for police performance measures can be represented with this three-part typology.