Mainstreaming Methodology for Estimating Costs of Crime
Offenders typically are not very productive while in prison. If they would not have been productive outside, then nothing much is lost. But if they lose the capacity to follow a productive job or profession then the losses to society as well as the offender can be significant. This is part of the reason why those deciding on punishments may take account of labour market status when selecting sentences.
A related point, if a more controversial one, is that the system of publicly recording that a person has been found guilty of committing a crime can be destructive of human capital. Having a criminal record makes it considerably more difficult to get a job, a credit card, a mortgage, a bank loan and so on. It is an adverse reputational signal that can significantly reduces an individual’s expected lifetime earnings. The provision of ‘extinguishing’ arrangements mean that those committing offences while they are young, or who remain conviction-free for some minimum interval, may be able to escape the stigma of a criminal record. But the reduction in life chances following a conviction may have significant opportunity costs.
Bibliographical review: lost productivity review
Costing issues: Lost productivity
