An outcome-based dynamic performance management approach to collaborative governance in crime control: insights from Malaysia

The paper analyzes Malaysia’s experience in crime control. It offers insights on how a whole-of-government perspective, underpinned by a dynamic outcome-based performance management system, or DPM, supports governments in bringing about progress in crime reduction. Although not exhaustive of all factors contributing to crime control, the paper argues that DPM can make collaboration in designing and implementing policies for crime control more effective, by enabling policy-makers frame causal links between strategic resources, performance drivers and outcomes. The feedback-loops underlying the crime-control system’s behavior should be governed in a way that enables policy-makers to build up a substantial and consistent endowment of strategic resources to affect sustainable outcomes. The deployment of these resources should help achieve—by affecting performance drivers, outputs, and intermediate outcomes—the ultimate outcome in crime control, namely, public perception of safety. The DPM approach applied to collaborative governance in crime control also suggests that policy-makers should build up and deploy strategic resources (most of which are intangible), such as political and administrative commitment, citizen participation, span of accountability, leadership, transparency, and trust. The mode of implementation can also influence success in crime control. Accordingly, a blend of top-down and bottom-up implementation and a culture of collaboration should also expedite crime reduction.