The Economics modelling of policing and the measurement of efficiency

A recent report (Public Service Productivity Panel (PSP) (2000)) has developed a set of criteria whereby the economic analysis of police force efficiency is to be made standard. An aim of the government’s drive for efficiency rankings is to enable the Home Office to determine a ‘best practice’ reference set of forces, and thereby allow differential funding of police forces. This paper attempts to put this recent development into a historical/evolutionary context and discusses: the economic methodologies behind creating best practice reference sets; the techniques proposed by the PSP (2000) report; and how best to estimate the production of police forces.