The problem with Policing with with target base assessments, results in needless or pointless arrests being made. What this article doesn't take account is regional disparity so to say those with lower convictions being made does not mean Policing it bad. It is also interesting to note although it's not mention in this article that Police get promotion via how many conviction being made. Whiles this is a sound strategy it could also force the Police to over arrest to meet targets. For senior Police the strategy is base on value for money verses arrest being made so if you got millions being spend for a "troublesome demo" and no arrest been made it does look good for somebody further up the chain of command and finally the Home office.

[Quote]
Not enough arrests, says Home Office
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent "The Daily Mirror"

One in four police forces are failing to catch enough criminals, Home Office statistics revealed yesterday.

An alarming 10 constabularies were ruled to be only "fair" for tackling crime.

Bedfordshire was worst of the lot - rated "poor" in three out of seven performance assessments.

But Thames Valley, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, Humberside and Northamptonshire were pretty lousy too. Surrey and Lancashire were the best of 43 forces with five and four "excellent" ratings. Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Ronnie Flanagan said: "It's not going to be a perfect picture across the board. Bedfordshire has issues." But its chief constable Gillian Parker rejected criticism, saying: "I'm somewhat puzzled by some of the headline results that in no way reflect the hard work that has been done." Assessment categories included serious crime and public protection, protecting vulnerable people and neighbourhood policing. Figures also showed officers still spend nearly a third of their time pouring over paperwork - despite a drive to get more bobbies on the beat.

FROM BEST TO WORST

1 Lancashire, Surrey

3 Cumbria, Northumbria

5 Dyfed Powys, Hants, Hertfordshire, Leics, Suffolk, West Mercia

11 Norfolk, South Yorks, West Yorks

14 Metropolitan, North Yorks, Staffordshire, West Midlands

18 City of London, Dorset, Merseyside, North Wales, Sussex

23 Essex, Glos, Kent

26 Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Durham, Notts, Warwickshire

33 Devon and Cornwall

34 Derbyshire, Gwent, South Wales, Wiltshire

38 Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Thames Valley

43 Bedfordshire[End Quote]