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P olice reform is high on the agenda of many societies, both developed and developing. In the early years of the 21st century, police reform in Britain became a central feature of the Labour Government's strategy on crime, and what followed was a reform agenda that by any measure could be deemed 'radical'. This paper examines the contemporary agenda for police reform in Britain in terms of two paradoxical movements. On the one hand, at the strategic and policy levels, police reform has entailed the 'disempowerment' of the police sector, a loss of control and a diminution of authority over decision-making relating to policing. On the other hand, at the operational and 'street' levels, police reform has entailed the 'empowerment' of the police sector, a widening of police discretion and an enhancement of the authority of the police officer as a community actor. The article examines the processes underpinning this paradox and locates them firmly within the contradictions inherent in the politicisation of crime and policing and the critical status of the public police within the politicisation of crime.

Performance management in criminal justice organisations has become a prominent issue in many countries and has faced increasing criticisms by scholars and practitioners. In this regard it is important to examine empirically how performance frameworks work concretely. We do so through the empirical examination of "performance regimes", i.e. the sets of performance indicators, internal procedures, instruments and processes of internal accountability through which performance is defined, assessed and monitored work in police organisations.By using the categories of traditional (target-based, top-down and short-term) and advanced (processes, more deliberative and creative and long-term) performance regimes, we have charted a process of evolution illustrated by the experience of two police forces in England. We argue that police performance management is a contradictory and hybrid process containing elements of both traditional and advanced regimes and in constant flux between them. Problem-solving and a focus on the quality of processes coexist with cascading pressures, an emphasis on numerical targets and other features of more traditional regimes.

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