A recent study from the University of California at Berkeley found that communities with a high per capita ratio of police are able to better combat crime and save money.

"Our estimates imply that each dollar spent on police is associated with approximately $1.60 in reduced victimization costs, suggesting that U.S. cities employ too few police," the study states.

The researchers identified the U.S. cities with the most police, many of which are located in southern California. The Torrance Police Department is among the those in the state with the most police officers per capita, according to the study. Burbank and Santa Monica in Los Angeles County were also on the list, which researchers compiled by looking at crime rates, income levels, cost of crime and policing levels. Yet, San Bernardino, another community located near Los Angeles, was identified as one of the state's three most "under-policed" cities, which are also among the nation's top 30 cities with too few police officers, KPCC reported.

According to the study, Torrance has a population of approximately 145,438 people - 6.3 percent of whom live at the poverty level. It has 161.5 officers per 100,000 people. The cost of cost of crime per capita in Torrance was found to be $184. This compares with a cost per capita of $3,010 in Richmond, California, which according to the study is one of the state's most under-policed municipalities.