Law and Order Efficiency Measurement – A Literature Review

This paper surveys the recent literature on law and order efficiency measurement. Law and order services include the services provided by the police, by the prison system and also by the judicial system (“the courts”). Key concepts prevalent in the efficiency measurement literature are presented. Decision making units most often found in the efficiency evaluation literature on law and order are charcterized. Inputs used by these units, and output measurement are examined and control and environment variables that explain or condition efficiency are dealt with. Methods of efficiency measurement are shortly presented. A synthesis of the main results and a short description of two important international databases on law and order are included.