Wong, GabrielManning, MatthewLo, T. WingJohnson, Shane D.2026-05-212026-05-211932-6203PubMed:38416727WOS:001181689500011ORCID:/0000-0001-9572-1561/work/214961767https://hdl.handle.net/1885/733809214We use bootstrap data envelopment analysis, adjusting for endogeneity, to examine police efficiency in detecting crime in Hong Kong. We address the following: (i) is there a correlation between the detection of crime and triad influence? (ii) does the level of triad influence affect the efficiency in translating inputs (police strength) into outputs (crime detection)? and (iii) how can the allocation of policing resources be adjusted to improve crime detection? We find that nighty-eight percent of Hong Kong police districts in our sample were found to be inefficient in the detection of crime. Variation was found across districts regarding the detection of violent, property and other crimes. Most inefficiencies and potential improvements in the detection of crime were found in the categories violent and other crimes. We demonstrate how less efficient police districts can modify police resourcing decisions to better detect certain crime types while maintaining current levels of resourcing. Finally, we highlight how the method we outline improves efficiency estimation by adjusting for endogeneity and measuring the conditional efficiency of each district (i.e. the efficiency of crime detection taking the instrumental variables (e.g. influence of triads) into consideration). The use of frontier models to assist in evaluating policing performance can lead to improved efficiency, transparency, and accountability in law enforcement, ultimately resulting in better public safety outcomes and publicly funded resource allocation.We would like to thank Professor Wing Lo for providing the data on the perceived triad influence across Hong Kong Districts. We would also like to thank Dr Sharon Kwok for meeting with us at the early stages of the project and providing her informative knowledge on triad history in Hong Kong.24en© 2024 Wong et al.Data envelopment analysisEndogeneityEnvironmentInstrumental-variablesLaw-enforcementModelOrganized-crimePerformance-measurementPolice efficiency2024-02-2810.1371/journal.pone.029714585186264896