Crime Reduction Programme
The Economic and Social Costs of Crime
This report by the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate provides estimates of the costs of various crimes. It is anticipated that this report will be of use both to policy-makers and to practitioners in developing evidence-based crime reduction measures.
Title: The economic and social costs of crime
Authors: Sam Brand & Richard Price
Series: Home Office Research Study 217
Number of pages: 100
Publication Date: 2000
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Note that in June 2005, the Home Office published 'The economic and social costs of crime against individuals and households 2003/04', updating the costs given in this report. |
Cost of crime estimates can be a great help to Government in ensuring that the maximum benefit is gained from money spent. In some areas of Government policy work, detailed analysis has been carried out over a period of many years to determine the effect of policy and its cost on the ground. In the area of criminal policy, evidence-based decision making of this type is relatively new and the number of tools available to practitioners is small. Whilst the authors admit that the evidence they present is neither perfect nor complete, this report breaks new ground in this country, significantly enlarging the amount and quality of data available.
The majority of high-profile crimes are costed in the report. Homicide is given a cost estimate of at least £1million per incident, thefts of vehicles £4.7K per incident, burglaries an average of £2.3K and violence against the person around £19K per incident. However not all types of crime are referenced in the report. For example, drug-trafficking, handling stolen goods, pubic order offences and summary and non-summary motoring offences are not included. Overall the report estimates the cost of crime in England & Wales to be £60 billion.
The authors have used a range of sources to give these estimates. The British Crime Survey has been used to give estimates of the volume of crime, and a variety of other commercial sources (many of them insurers) to get estimates of the costs of crime. A number of overseas studies were also used as reference materials.
The authors remark in their introduction that the main purpose of the report is to stimulate debate and improvements in the evidence. Following from this debate, a new version was published in June 2005 with revised costs.
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Last update: Thursday, August 28, 2008