3.05 Leadership to create public value

The National Police Chiefs Council Chair, Sara Thornton, has suggested that “Public value theory prompts us to think about the value we are trying to create. What outcomes are we delivering for the citizen?.....So what are the police for? What is the value we are trying to create in policing?”.

It is important that measures of added value go beyond the counting of activities, or even the counting of outputs (e.g. stop and search, number of arrests or convictions) to include ways in which public organisations contributed to the wider aims of society. For example, creating a fair, just or peaceful society or enabling citizens to live confident, safe and fulfilling lives.

Police leaders have to navigate how to achieve valuable outcomes for society, and this research project explores this through the lens of public value. The research commenced with a literature review examining the relevance of public value to policing. The field work involved case studies, which also use observation and other data collection from the police and the public. Three questions were explored:

• How do police leaders perceive and conceptualise public value (perhaps in different language) in complex and contested situations?
• Does political astuteness help leaders to create public value?
• How far do police and public have similar or different views about public value and how is that handled by leaders? 

Outputs