ESTIMATING THE FINANCIAL COSTS OF CRIME VICTIMIZATION

Despite reductions in U.S. crime rates in recent decades, crime victimization continues to be a pressing problem with enormous societal costs. Currently available national estimates are in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year equivalent to between 2 percent and 6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. This project, conducted by the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) in partnership with the Urban Institute (Urban) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), is an assessment of the field of cost of victimization research. The product is a menu of recommendations for future research studies and practitioner tools to advance the field. One objective of the project was to keep the focus squarely on the victims, and consider what information is most needed by those who serve them. Relatedly, another objective was to recognize that even if the proximate victim is a business, the government, or non-profit organization, individuals still suffer.

Given the victim-centered focus, the project team conducted several primary data collections, including focus groups and surveys, to obtain input from victims and various practitioner groups about their experiences and needs. The project team also re-framed the taxonomy of victimization costs pioneered and revised by Cohen over the years (Cohen, 2005, e.g.) from the perspective of various practitioner users based on who covers different costs and added factors that may change cost estimates. The project team also conducted a literature review that consists of two major sections: how costs of victimization are estimated, and estimation methods and data sources concerning the incidence, prevalence, and concentration of victimization.

The data collection activities and literature review, combined with extensive input from an advisory board of experts throughout the project, inform the menu of recommendations proposed in Volume III. These focus on topical areas where more information is needed; methodological recommendations to improve estimates; and practitioner resources and tools to help disseminate research developments, assist in calculating local estimates, and better equip practitioners to communicate and use victimization cost estimates effectively in the field.

READ the exexutive summary.

READ the final report.

For more information, contact Kristina Lugo‑Graulich at [email protected].

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