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Policing the police service: A case study of the rise of “new public management” within an Australian police service

Zahirul Hoque (Charles Darwin Business School, Faculty of Law, Business & Arts, Northern Territory University, Darwin, Australia)
Sharee Arends (Energex, Brisbane, Australia)
Rebecca Alexander (Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia)

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

ISSN: 0951-3574

Article publication date: 1 February 2004

5897

Abstract

Recently public interest in the police service in Australia has emanated from extensive media coverage and from rising public accountability expectations. In light of this, the current paper explores how far the accounting, accountability and performance management systems within “new public management” ideals have evolved within the Australian police services. More specifically, it explores the accountability framework, information for performance evaluation and public sector reform implications for an Australian state police service as a whole, and an individual police station, in particular. The findings suggest that the police service in Australia has a rigid accountability structure and is continuously subject to performance evaluations. Further, it has been found that there is considerable rise of “new public management” ideals within the police services in Australia. It was apparent that the reforms in the police service had a dual purpose – legitimizing the police service to the electorate and ordinary citizens, while encouraging efficiencies of resource use.

Keywords

Citation

Hoque, Z., Arends, S. and Alexander, R. (2004), "Policing the police service: A case study of the rise of “new public management” within an Australian police service", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 59-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570410525210

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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