Mainstreaming Methodology for Estimating Costs of Crime
A primary use of cost of crime estimates is as a measure of the benefits of crime prevention that can be used for appraisal and economic evaluation purposes. It is no coincidence that around the time it published its first estimates of the costs of crime (Brand & Price, 2000) the Home Office also published guidelines to evaluators of criminal justice projects (Dhiri & Brand, 1999) advocating the use of cost of crime estimates as a basis for valuing project benefits.
It is important to keep in mind that appraisal and evaluation are distinct and are applied at different points in the policy cycle.
Appraisal is done before implementation of a project and relies on making estimates of costs and benefits in commensurable, financial terms. We outline the method in a cycle theft reduction project appraisal.
Evaluation is done after the event and compares the outcomes actually delivered (and the costs actually incurred) with the estimates made prior to implementation. We outline the method in a further example based on an economic evaluation of cycle theft reduction project. This is an after-the-event review of the project as appraised in the previous paragraph.
