The cost of crime to society: New crime-specific estimates for policy and program evaluation

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence Vol. 108; no. 1; pp. 98 - 109
• Main Authors: McCollister, Kathryn E, French, Michael T, Fang, Hai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.04.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Cost analysis; Costs and Cost Analysis; Crime; Crime - economics; Crime - statistics & numerical data; Crime Prevention; Crime Victims - economics; Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data; Criminal Law - economics; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Drug addiction; Economic Policy; Economics; Government Agencies; Health costs; Homicide - economics; Humans; Intervention; Investigations (Law Enforcement); Juries; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Models, Economic; Offenders; Policy; Prisoners; Prisons - economics; Program Evaluation; Program Evaluation - economics; Program Evaluation - methods; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Public Policy; Social Programs; Socioeconomic Factors; Substance Abuse; Treatment; United States - epidemiology; United States; Economics; Policy; Program evaluation; Treatment; Crime; Human; Evaluation; Drug addiction; Costs; Program; Criminality; Estimation; Murder; Health policy; Addiction; Health economy; Economic aspect; Society; Public health
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.12.002

Abstract Estimating the cost to society of individual crimes is essential to the economic evaluation of many social programs, such as substance abuse treatment and community policing. A review of the crime-costing literature reveals multiple sources, including published articles and government reports, which collectively represent the alternative approaches for estimating the economic losses associated with criminal activity. Many of these sources are based upon data that are more than 10 years old, indicating a need for updated figures. This study presents a comprehensive methodology for calculating the cost to society of various criminal acts. Tangible and intangible losses are estimated using the most current data available. The selected approach, which incorporates both the cost-of-illness and the jury compensation methods, yields cost estimates for more than a dozen major crime categories, including several categories not found in previous studies. Updated crime cost estimates can help government agencies and other organizations execute more prudent policy evaluations, particularly benefit–cost analyses of substance abuse treatment or other interventions that reduce crime.