Police Standards Unit

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The Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF)

Background
The Policing Performance Assessment Framework is an initiative led by the Home Office, with the support of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.

Improved police performance is central to the Government’s vision of better public services. Until the Policing Performance Assessment Framework, the police service had lagged behind many other public services in terms of the extent, robustness and transparency of the framework for assessing its performance.

Features
The Policing Performance Assessment Framework is about “policing” as a whole and is designed to reflect the breadth of modern policing. It is about the contribution of local communities and other organisations as well as the police service itself.

In addition to focussing on operational effectiveness, the Policing Performance Assessment Framework provides measures of satisfaction plus overall trust and confidence in the police, as well as measures that put performance into context in terms of efficiency and organisational capability. In line with the Government’s desire to enhance policing accountability at a local level, performance against national and local priorities are reflected in the framework.

More specifically, the Policing Performance Assessment Framework will also help demonstrate success in achieving the five key priorities of the National Policing Plan for 2004-07: providing a citizen focused service to the public, tackling anti-social behaviour and disorder, continuing to reduce crime in line with the Government’s Public Service Agreements targets, combating serious and organised crime, and narrowing the justice gap.

A list of Frequently Asked Questions about the framework is also available.

PPAF (Release 1)
Following the use of an interim framework focussed on performance against PSA measures, PPAF (Release 1) introduced thirteen headline indicators on 1 April 2004. A guidance document detailing how the measures are calculated is available on this website. Within the Home Office, the Police Standards Unit is leading on the assessment of forces against these interim indicators, as well as the dissemination of this performance data to police forces, police authorities, Crime Reduction and Disorder Partnerships and the public.

The Statutory Instrument listing the thirteen indicators for 2004/05 will be available on HMSO’s website:

http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2004/20040644.htm

If you would like further information on this work please email us at psu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.