Policing by Doing What Needs to be Done, Qualitative Management and Accountability

• In Event: Strategic Management and Change in Policing

Abstract

In a society which develops from a welfare state to a participation society a different manner of accountability is appropriate: not just afterwards on the basis of figures, but much more qualitative, interpretative and continuous. This dialogic manner of accountability is precisely appropriate for the police, who are so dependent for their effectiveness on good, reciprocal contact with citizens. Wilt the so-called ‘B3W matrix’, the Hague Police Service in The Netherlands introduced a qualitative method of safety management and accountability that is appropriate in the current time and is intended to contribute towards a sustainable decrease in crime and unsafety. By basing the day-to-day work of the police on a coordinated combination of evidence-based safety strategies, problem-oriented policing, intelligence-led policing and community policing (‘The Best of Three Worlds’), the police do as much as possible what society desires. This expressly concerns leadership and speed of action as well if necessary, not only of the police but also of the authorities. We argue here for a Dutch police that continues to develop into a more problem-oriented police service, locally connected and context driven. In short: a police service that does what needs to be done.

Author

• Peter Versteegh, The Hague Police Service