Comparability, competition and control: performance management in the correctional services of Germany and England and Wales

Over the last three decades, performance measurement has advanced to become a ubiquitous part of public management and has also spread to the penal sector. This chapter compares the performance measurement systems that have come to exist in the penal sectors of Germany and England and Wales by discussing three main themes: First, we describe and analyse the different measurement systems in use. Second, we compare different rationales and objectives underlying the introduction of the different performance measurement systems. Third, we examine uses and effects of the respective systems. We then discuss implementation challenges in both systems and potential negative unintended consequences. We suggest that by keeping the performance measurement systems open to negotiation and debate, such systems may help to mediate between different prison values and objectives. The article, written in English, is preceded by a German summary