Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T04:20:38.743Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Incidence and Costs of Personal and Property Crimes in the USA, 2017

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2021

Ted R. Miller ,
Mark A. Cohen Open the ORCID record for Mark A. Cohen [Opens in a new window] ,
David I. Swedler ,
Bina Ali  and
Delia V. Hendrie
Ted R. Miller*
Affiliation:
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 814 Bromley St. Silver Spring, Calverton, MD20902, USA and School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Mark A. Cohen
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
David I. Swedler
Affiliation:
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, MD, USA
Bina Ali
Affiliation:
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, MD, USA
Delia V. Hendrie
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
*
*e-mail: miller@pire.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Total cost estimates for crime in the USA are both out-of-date and incomplete. We estimated incidence and costs of personal crimes (both violent and non-violent) and property crimes in 2017. Incidence came from national arrest data, multi-state estimates of police-reported crimes per arrest, national victimization and road crash surveys, and police underreporting studies. We updated and expanded upon published unit costs. Estimated crime costs totaled $2.6 trillion ($620 billion in monetary costs plus quality of life losses valued at $1.95 trillion; 95 % uncertainty interval $2.2–$3.0 trillion). Violent crime accounted for 85 % of costs. Principal contributors to the 10.9 million quality-adjusted life years lost were sexual violence, physical assault/robbery, and child maltreatment. Monetary expenditures caused by criminal victimization represent 3 % of Gross Domestic Product – equivalent to the amount spent on national defense. These estimates exclude the additional costs of preventing and avoiding crime such as enhanced lighting and burglar alarms. They also exclude crimes against businesses and most white-collar and corporate offenses.

Keywords

child maltreatmentcost of crimecriminal justice policyproperty crimesexual assaultviolent crimeD61K42H40
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , Spring 2021 , pp. 24 - 54
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Addington, L. A. 2006. “Using NIBRS to Study Methodological Sources of Divergence Between the UCR and NCVS.” In Lynch, J. P. and Addington, L. A. (Eds.), Understanding Crime Statistics: Revisiting the Divergence of the NCVS and UCR , pp. 225–250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, K. B. 2013. Consumer Fraud in the United States, 2011: The Third FTC Survey. Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.Google Scholar
Aos, S. 2015. “What Is the Bottom Line?” Criminology & Public Policy, 14(4): 633–638. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aos, S. and Drake, E.. 2013. Prison, Police, and Programs: Evidence-Based Options that Reduce Crime and Save Money (Doc. No. 13-11-1901). Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.Google Scholar
Beck, A. J., Berzofsky, M., Caspar, R., and Krebs, C.. 2013a. Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2011–12: National Inmate Survey, 2011–12. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.Google Scholar
Beck, A. J., Cantor, D., Hartge, J., and Smith, T.. 2013b. Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2012: National Survey of Youth in Custody, 2012. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A. J., Harrison, P. M., Berzofsky, M., Caspar, R., and Krebs, C.. 2010a. Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2008–09. (NCJ 231169). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.Google Scholar
Beck, A. J., Harrison, P. M., and Guerino, P.. 2010b. Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008–09. (NCJ 228416). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, R. 2017. Intentional Fires. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association.Google Scholar
Carson, R. T. and Louviere, J. J.. 2017. “Estimation of Broad-Scale Tradeoffs in Community Policing Policies.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 8(3): 385–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Children’s Bureau. 2019. Child Maltreatment 2017. Washington, DC: Administration on Children, Youth and Families.Google Scholar
Cohen, M. and Miller, T. R.. 1998. “The Cost of Mental Health Care for Victims of Crime.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13(1): 93–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. and Miller, T. R. 2003. “‘Willingness to Award’ Non-Monetary Damages and the Implied Value of Life from Jury Awards.” International Review of Law and Economics, 23(2): 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0144-8188(03)00025-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. A. 1988. “Pain, Suffering, and Jury Awards: A Study of the Cost of Crime to Victims.” Law and Society Review, 22(3): 537–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. A. 2015. “Willingness to Pay to Reduce White Collar and Corporate Crime.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 6(2): 305–324. https://doi.org/10.1017/bca.2015.43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. A. 2020. The Costs of Crime and Justice (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. A. and Piquero, A. R.. 2009. “New Evidence on the Monetary Value of Saving a High Risk Youth.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 25(1): 25–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-008-9057-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. A., Rust, R., Steen, S., and Tidd, S.. 2004. “Willingness-to-Pay for Crime Control Programs.” Criminology, 42(1): 86–110. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2004.tb00514.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corso, P., Finkelstein, E., Miller, T. R., Fiebelkorn, I., and Zaloshnja, E.. 2006. “Incidence and Lifetime Costs of Injuries in the United States.” Injury Prevention, 12(4): 212–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fang, X., Brown, D. S., Florence, C. S., and Mercy, J. A.. 2012. “The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment in the United States and Implications for Prevention.” Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, 36(2): 156–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., and Hamby, S. L.. 2009. “Violence, Abuse, and Crime Exposure in a National Sample of Children and Youth.” Pediatrics, 124(5): 1411–1423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Shattuck, A., and Hamby, S. L.. (2013). “Violence, crime, and abuse exposure in a national sample of children and youth: an update.” JAMA Pediatrics, 167(7), 614–621. Erratum in: JAMA Pediatrics, 168(3), 286, 2014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glodstein, D., Glodstein, S. L., and Fornaro, J.. 2010. “Fraud Trauma Syndrome: The Victims of the Bernard Madoff Scandal.” Journal of Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business, 2(1): 1–9.Google Scholar
Harrell, E. 2019. Victims of Identity Theft, 2016. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vit16.pdf.Google Scholar
Hart, T. C. and Rennison, C. M.. 2003. Reporting Crime to the Police, 1992–2000. Office of Justice Programs Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holt, E. W., McGrath, D. J., and Herring, W. L.. 2007. Timing and Duration of Student Participation in Special Education in the Primary Grades. (NCES 2007–043). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.Google Scholar
Hunt, P., Anderson, J., and Saunders, J.. 2017. “The Price of Justice: New National and State-Level Estimates of the Judicial and Legal Costs of Crime to Taxpayers.” American Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(2): 231–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, P. E., Saunders, J., and Kilmer, B.. 2019. “Estimates of Law Enforcement Costs by Crime Type for Benefit-Cost Analyses.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 10(1): 95–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kann, L., McManus, T., Harris, W. A., Shanklin, S. L., Flint, K. H., Queen, B., et al. 2018. “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2017.” MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(8): 1–114. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6708a1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kochi, I.and Taylor, L. 2011. “Risk Heterogeneity and the Value of Reducing Fatal Risks: Further Market-Based Evidence.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 2(3): Article 1. https://doi.org/10.2202/2152-2812.1079.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, B. and Miller, T. R.. 2014. Medical and Work Loss Cost Estimation Methods for the WISQARS Cost of Injury Module. Calverton, MD: Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation.Google Scholar
Lee, S., Aos, S., and Miller, M.. 2008. Evidence-Based Programs to Prevent Children from Entering and Remaining in the Child Welfare System: Benefits and Costs for Washington. Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.Google Scholar
McCollister, K. E., French, M. T., and Fang, H.. 2010. “The Cost of Crime to Society: New Crime-Specific Estimates for Policy and Program Evaluation.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 108(1): 98–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, T. R., Fulton, D., and Lee, D. S.. 2018. The Cost and Consequences of Sexual Assault in California. Sacramento: California Coalition Against Sexual Assault.Google Scholar
Miller, T. R. 1990. “The Plausible Range for the Value of Life: Red Herrings Among the Mackerels.” Journal of Forensic Economics, 3(3): 17–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, T. R. 2007. Costs of Sexual Violence in Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Health. http://www.health.state.mn.us/svp.Google Scholar
Miller, T. R. and Blincoe, L. 1994. “Incidence and Cost of Alcohol-Involved Crashes in the United States.” Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26(5): 583–592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, T. R., Cohen, M. A., and Hendrie, D.. 2017. Noneconomic Damages Due to Physical and Sexual Assault: Estimates from Civil Jury Awards. Forensic Science and Criminology, 2(1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.15761/FSC.1000106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, T. R., Cohen, M. A., and Rossman, S. B.. 1993. “Victim Costs of Violent Crime and Resulting Injuries.” Health Affairs, 12(4): 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlfaff.12.4.186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, T. R., Cohen, M. A., and Wiersema, B.. 1996. Victim Costs and Consequences—A New Look. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.Google Scholar
Miller, T. R., Finkelstein, E., Zaloshnja, E., and Hendrie, D.. 2012. “The cost of child and adolescent injuries and the savings from prevention.” In Liller, K. (Ed.) Injury Prevention for Children and Adolescents: Research, Practice, and Advocacy (2nd ed.): 21–81. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.Google Scholar
Miller, T. R. and Hendrie, D.. 2013. “Economic evaluation of public health laws and their enforcement.” In Wagenaar, A. and Burris, S. (Eds.) Public Health Law Research: Theory and Methods: 347–378. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Miller, T. R., Pindus, N. M., Douglass, J. B., and Rossman, S. B.. 1995. Databook on Nonfatal Injury: Incidence, Costs, and Consequences. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.Google Scholar
National Center for Education Statistics. 2018. Digest of Educational Statistics: 2016, NCES 2017–094, Table 229.10. Available at https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_229.10.asp (accessed December 21, 2018).Google Scholar
Neil, E. 2000. “The Reasons Why Young Children Are Placed for Adoption: Findings from a Recently Placed Sample and a Discussion of Implications for Subsequent Identity Development.” Child and Family Social Work, 5(4): 303–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, R. 2011. “The financial cost of bullying, violence, and vandalism.” Slate (Vol. 29): 28–29. Boise, ID: Idaho School Boards Association.Google Scholar
Picasso, E. and Cohen, M. A.. 2019. “Valuing the Public’s Demand for Crime Prevention Programs: A Discrete Choice Experiment.” Journal of Experimental Criminology, 15(4): 529–550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-019-09378-x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Picasso, E. and Grand, M. C.. 2019. “The Value of the Risk to Life in the Context of Crime.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 10(2): 178–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Planty, M., Langton, L., Krebs, C., Berzofsky, M., and Smiley-McDonald, H.. 2013. Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994–2010. (Special Report NCJ 240655). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, L. A. and Hammitt, J. K.. 2013. “Skills of the Trade: Valuing Health Risks Reductions in Benefit-Cost Analysis.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 4(1): 107–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosinsky, K. and Williams, S. C.. 2018. Federal, State, and Local Spending to Address Child Abuse and Neglect in SFY 2016.” Baltimore, MD: Child Trends, Annie E. Casey Foundation.Google Scholar
Scarborough, A. A. and McCrae, J. S.. 2008. “Reported Eligibility for Part C and Later School-Age Special Education Services.” Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 28(2): 75–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scotton, C. R. and Taylor, L. O.. 2011. “Valuing Risk Reductions: Incorporating Risk Heterogeneity Into a Revealed Preference Framework.” Resource and Energy Economics, 33(2): 381–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., and Li, S.. 2010. Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4): Report to Congress. Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families.Google Scholar
Smith, S. G., Chen, J., Basile, K. C., Gilbert, L. K., Merrick, M. T., Patel, N., et al. 2017. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NIPSVS): 2010–2012 State Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Google Scholar
Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M.-J., and Chen, J.. 2018. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Google Scholar
Spicer, R. S., Miller, T. R., Hendrie, D., and Blincoe, L.. 2011. “Quality-Adjusted Life Years Lost to Road Crash Injury: Updating the Injury Impairment Index . Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine, 55: 365–377.Google ScholarPubMed
Titus, R. M., Heinzelmann, F., and Boyle, J. M.. 1994. “Victimization of Persons by Fraud.” Crime & Delinquency, 41(1): 54–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trumbull, W. N. 1990. “Who Has Standing in Cost-Benefit Analysis.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 9(2): 201–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 1989. Regulatory Program of the United States Government. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
University of Albany. 2012. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online 2016, Table 4.4. http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t442010.pdf.Google Scholar
Viscusi, W. K. and Masterman, C. J. 2017. “Income Elasticities and Global Values of a Statistical Life.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 8(2): 226–250. https://doi.org/10.1017/bca.2017.12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welsh, B. C., Farrington, D. P., and Gowar, B. R.. 2015. “Benefit-Cost Analysis of Crime Prevention Programs.” Crime and Justice, 44(1): 447–516.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, J., Miller, T. R., Zhang, N., LeHew, B., and Peek-Asa, C.. 2014. “Incidence and Cost of Sexual Violence in Iowa.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(2): 198–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zaloshnja, E., Miller, T., and Blincoe, L.. 2013. “Costs of Alcohol-Involved Crashes, United States, 2010.” Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine, 57: 3–12.Google ScholarPubMed
Zaloshnja, E., Miller, T. R., Romano, E. O., and Spicer, R. S.. 2004. “Crash Costs by Body Part Injured, Fracture Involvement, and Threat to Life Severity, United States, 2000.” Accident Analysis and Prevention, 36(3): 415–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zonfrillo, M. R., Spicer, R. S., Lawrence, B. A., and Miller, T. R. 2018. “Incidence and Costs of Injuries to Children and Adults in the United States.” Injury Epidemiology, 5(1): 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-018-0167-6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed