Mainstreaming Methodology for Estimating Costs of Crime
International comparisons of the costs of crime can take many forms, some at least of which can be illuminating. Variations by offence type may be useful for checking the reliability and robustness of estimates, although do not of themselves imply that errors have occurred.
There are many reasons why costs may vary. In the US, for example, a higher proportion of violent offences may involve gunshot wounds. These have high injury costs for victims with the result that an 'average' violent offence may have higher costs there than elsewhere. Variation in income levels, to take another example, will likely influence the average loss suffered by victims of property offences.
Another source of variation will be differences in the way criminal justice institutions work. In England and Wales, for example, legal aid costs per offence tend to be substantially higher than in other countries. But closer examination of the relative costs of various components of the CJS reveals that there are related cost elements that are lower. For example, criminal procedures there are different with the result that the costs of operating courts are significantly lower.
International comparisons, based on important contributions such as the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEJEP) report on European Judicial Systems, the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics and Eurostat publications on Crime and Criminal Justice facilitate this kind of work. In turn this can help identify the search for institutional change that might help reduce the aggregate costs of crime.
