ABSTRACT
Performance management should enable the police to deliver the level of service required by society, so it is an important component of the overall approach to policing organized crime. However, it may seem that where performance is poorly managed or where performance management is carried out with an insufficient understanding of the ways in which it will impact on the practice of enforcing law on criminal organizations, it can have a dysfunctional effect. This can be seen in police organizations where achieving performance targets has become the sole objective of many managers. This pressure to achieve targets tends to lead to an ever-diminishing intelligence capacity. The mechanism by which this happens is not difficult to understand. The need to achieve short-term goals, according to Stelfox (2008), leads managers to make choices that favor quick wins, low cost, and simplicity in performance management. These choices are carried out even when longerterm or higher-cost measures would lead to better outcomes. Over time, this reduces not only the standards of intelligence and investigation, but also the opportunities that investigators have to develop their skills.
