Managing crime: police use of crime data as an indicator of effectiveness

The use by the police of crime statistics and crime clearance figures has traditionally been identified as an indicator of police efficiency and effectiveness. However, it has become clear, even in the police literature, that recorded crime can be little more than a relatively sophisticated artifice. This is because crime figures can be, and are, used to demonstrate police efficiency in terms of clearance rates or, alternatively, lack of investment, when crime figures are high and clearance rates are low. The ability of the police to manipulate re- corded crime is now recognized and identified in the literature.