The city and the police force: analysing relative efficiency in city police precincts with data envelopment analysis

This paper analyses the efficiency of the Lisbon police force precincts with a 2-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the first stage, we estimate the DEA efficiency scores and compare the precincts with each other. The aim of this procedure is to seek out those best practices that will lead to the improved performance of all of the precincts. We rank the precincts according to their efficiency for the period 2000–2002. In the second stage, we estimate a Tobit model in which the efficiency scores are regressed in socio-economic issues, identifying social causes which vary across the city and that affect deterrence policy. The economic implications arising from the study are considered.