Which statement about performance indicators is true?

• A. They focus solely on budget metrics
• B. They measure only response time
• C. Traditionally costs per capita were used; cost efficiency does not necessarily mean effectiveness; Community policing has demanded these indicators be changed; Competency based indicators measure activities and accomplishments
• D. They are unchanged over decades

Answer: (C)

Performance indicators in policing work best when they reflect meaningful outcomes and the actual work being done, not just what is spent or how fast things happen. Historically, cost per capita served as a simple input measure, but cost efficiency doesn’t automatically equal effectiveness. As community policing emphasizes solving problems and improving community outcomes, indicators have evolved to include more than budgets or response times. They now include competency-based measures that look at what officers do and the results they achieve. So the combined idea—that traditional cost-based indicators existed, that efficiency isn’t the same as effectiveness, that community policing pushed changes in what is measured, and that indicators now track activities and accomplishments—captures the true nature of performance indicators. The other statements are narrower or outdated: focusing only on budgets, measuring only response time, or remaining unchanged for decades.