Measuring and testing the response to identified problems.
First published
This guidance helps forces understand how to assess their responses to particular problems. It does not relate to a force's overall performance within the policing performance system.
A good quality assessment of the impact of your response is necessary to understand:
- whether you have been successful in resolving your identified problem
- how cost-effective your response has been
Types of assessment
There are three main types of assessment that you can complete at the same time:
- Impact assessment – this will tell you whether your response has had the desired effect.
- Process evaluation – this will provide information on how your response was implemented. If your response was unsuccessful, it will help to you to understand whether it was because of the response itself or because it was not implemented effectively.
- Cost-effectiveness evaluation – this will involve calculating the benefits and costs of your response to understand whether the financial benefits outweigh the costs.
Further information on the options available and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches is available in the policing evaluation toolkit.