Police management reform, labor productivity, and citizens’ evaluation of police services

Abstract

Purpose

This study tracks changes in labor productivity of the Finnish police force over a period of thorough management reforms (2009-2014). Theoretically, the study is based on the cost disease hypothesis. It was assumed that police management reforms have had no noticeable effect on labor productivity and that, therefore, the fact that both physical police facilities and frontline employees have been reduced during the reform years has been reflected on the output side: on the number of outputs, accessibility, and quality of police services. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted as a series of longitudinal function-specific output-input analyses (2000-2015). The project employed data from the Police Performance Management database, Police Citizen Surveys (PCSs, 1999-2016), and Police Personnel Surveys (1999-2015). Methodologically, it relied on two different compounded annual growth rate concepts, linear regressions and likelihood ratio analyses.

Findings

The rate of growth of labor productivity was unaffected by the management reform period. In fact, productivity may have declined during the reform process. Citizens’ evaluations of police services have slightly deteriorated over the management reform period.

Research limitations/implications

PCS data are based on quota sampling. The procedure contains random sampling elements but is not fully random. The earliest PCS data lack satisfactory population weights, which is why unweighted data had to be used in this study.

Originality/value

Longitudinal studies on police productivity and, relatedly, on the cost disease phenomenon are rare. Yet, the themata are potentially very significant for both citizens and policy makers.

Citation

Vuorensyrjä, M. (2018), "Police management reform, labor productivity, and citizens’ evaluation of police services", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 41 No. 6, pp. 749-765. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-02-2017-0025