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Key Text Measuring Progress toward Safety and Justice : A Global Guide to the Design of Performance Indicators Across the Justice Sector

Author: Vera Institute of Justice
Date: 2003
Size: 76 pages (848 KB)

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Summary

How can progress towards delivering safety, security and justice be measured? What are the key steps in designing a system of indicators to gauge the impact of sector reforms? This guide, produced by the Vera Institute of Justice, sets out a process that can be used to develop appropriate indicators. It is intended as a practical tool for use around the world.

The guide is aimed at programme managers responsible for improving safety, security and access to justice, but should be useful to all who are interested in pursuing reform in the sector. It does not recommend the use of particular indicators, but describes a process by which each country or programme can develop a customised set of indicators. It outlines the principles that should inform the choice of indicators and offers examples. The design process is intended to be simple and practical, so that it can be applied even where data sources are poor. The focus is on collecting opinions from people who experience the work of the safety and justice sector, which are regarded as valuable data. Ideally, the resulting system should continue to function beyond the completion of reforms.

The guide contains four sections. The first defines what is meant by indicators and describes the design process – an essential starting point for users. The remaining chapters look at the role of indicators in measuring progress:

Part One explains how to devise practical and effective indicators, or baskets of indicators, in environments that are both poor and rich in data. It distinguishes between strategic, institutional and activity indicators.
Part Two examines indicators to measure progress across the whole sector, for use by officials or organisations with a broad policy remit. They are divided into indicators of safety and security and indicators of accessible justice.
Part Three looks at indicators to measure progress towards objectives for state institutions active in the sector, including the police, justice ministries, the judiciary and prisons. It also covers indicators for accountability mechanisms.
Part Four identifies the particular challenges of constructing indicators that measure the outcomes of non-state institutions operating in the sector. It also addresses problems of data collection.

Some actors may want to use the whole guide, while others may prefer to use it selectively according to their needs. The general recommendations in the first section, however, are regarded as the foundation for any system of indicators:

Start with the outcomes you aim to achieve. Once these have been clearly defined, develop a set of indicators that can best measure progress towards them.
Use a balanced basket of indicators – single indicators rarely measure outcomes well, and a basket can give greater confidence in the results.
Ensure that indicators are sensitive enough to the changes you want to make and work with your timeframe.
Design indicators that allow you to isolate the experiences of the less powerful, such as the poor. For this, data will have to be broken down.
Use the simplest and least expensive indicators possible. They should also be easily understood by the public.
Build confidence among stakeholders in the indicators, and ensure that they do not create perverse incentives.

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Source: Vera Institute of Justice, 2003, 'Measuring Progress toward Safety and Justice : A Global Guide to the Design of Performance Indicators Across the Justice Sector', Vera Institute of Justice, New York.
Author: Martin Surr , ma-surr@dfid.gov.uk
Vera Institute of Justice, http://www.vera.org