The data envelopment analysis (DEA) method presents a means to analyze input-output ratio in a unique manner. It assists in developing a theme of measuring efficiency of any organization that uses resources to produce some output or provide some services. DEA can be helpful in measuring the efficient functioning of the police departments, as well as other criminal justice agencies, such as the judiciary or corrections. A DEA-based performance evaluation is likely to enable the criminal justice units (i.e. police units) to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their operations and improve, via the implementation of new policies and processes, current operations. In summary, police units may attain good performance by utilizing the DEA's input-output variables that best suit its organization and management. It may focus on demanding more arrests or convictions or demanding better use of the money provided to the department. This article introduces and applies the technique of DEA to suggest a method of measuring police performance in India. Information about police activities for all the 25 States in India for 1997 was collected. The information/data collected included: total expenditure in crores of Rupees, number of police officers, number of investigating officers, total number of investigated cases, number of persons arrested, number of persons charge sheeted, number of persons convicted, and number of trials completed. Figures, tables, references