Evaluating US state police performance using data envelopment analysis

In this paper, we evaluate the efficiency of state police services in the continental United States using a multiple-stage data envelopment analysis model. Using multiple inputs and multiple outputs to characterize police service provision, technical and scale efficiency are calculated for the 49 continental states. Given the complex nature of service provision, we allow for environmental factors of production and control for these non-discretionary inputs. Our results indicate that most states are technically efficient, but nearly half are operating at less than optimal scale size.