The Comparative Technical Efficiency of Florida Campus Police Departments

Abstract

Formal police departments comprising sworn officers have been increasingly utilized on college campuses, but to date there is little empirical research on their comparative performance outcomes. The present study is the first known to analyze the technical efficiency of these departments using data envelopment analysis. Using data from 2008 to 2010, the Florida university police departments are compared to their local municipal counterparts as well as the departments that comprise the North Carolina university system. The results reveal that Florida campus police departments are far less efficient than the municipal agencies they are modeled on, yet more efficient than the North Carolina campus departments on the same measures though efficiency has decreased in all three samples over the 3-year period. These results are used to analyze the security versus law enforcement functions of campus police in general. Specifically, these outcomes are intended to inform campus policy makers and show the need for th...