National Crime Victim's Rights Week

National Crime Victim's Rights Week - Resource Guide

COST OF CRIME

Violent crime (including drunk driving and arson,) accounts for $426,000 billion annually, and property crime accounts for $24 billion. (Miller, Ted R., Cohen, Mark A., Wiersema, Brian, Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look, February 1996. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

Personal crime is estimated to cost $105 billion annually in medical costs, lost earnings and public program costs related to victim assistance. When pain, suffering, and the reduced quality of life are assessed, the costs of personal crime increases to an estimated $450 billion annually. Violent crime results in lost wages equivalent to one percent of American earnings. (Ibid.)

As much as 10 to 20 percent of mental health care expenditures in the United States may be attributable to crime, primarily for victims treated as a result of their victimization. These estimates do not include any treatment for perpetrators of violence. (Ibid.)

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, federal spending on drug control programs has increased from $1.5 billion in fiscal 1981 to $13.3 billion in fiscal 1995. ("Fact Sheet: Drug Data Summary" Drugs and Crime Factsheet, June 1995. Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, D.C.)

Overall, rape has the highest annual victim costs at $127 billion per year (excluding child sex abuse), followed by assault at $93 billion, murder (excluding arson and drunk driving) at $61 billion, and child abuse at $56 billion. (Ibid.)

Four out of five gunshot victims are on public assistance or uninsured, costing taxpayers an estimated 4.5 billion dollars a year. (U.S. News and World Report, July 1, 1996.)

Violent crime causes three percent of U.S. medical spending and 14 percent of injury-related medical spending. (Ibid.)

Insurers pay $45 billion annually due to crime - roughly $265 per American adult. Government pays $8 billion annually for restorative and emergency services to victims, plus perhaps one-fourth of the $11 billion in health insurance payments. (Ibid.)

Victims pay about $44 billion of the $57 billion in tangible nonservice expenses for traditional crimes of violence. Employers pay almost $5 billion because of these crimes (health insurance bills, sick leave and disability insurance), and government bears the remaining costs through lost tax revenues and Medicare and Medicaid payments. (Ibid.)

The overall costs of property crime are staggering. In 1995, there were 12,068,358 property offenses committed for a total estimated dollar loss of $15.5 billion. Of these figures: 580,545 robberies were committed in 1995 with an estimated dollar loss of $507 million; 2,594,995 burglaries with an estimated dollar loss of $3.3 billion; 8,000,631 larcenies/thefts with an estimated dollar loss of $4.3 billion; and 1,472,732 motor vehicle thefts with an estimated loss of $7.6 million. (Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports, 1995. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D.C., (released 10/96)

Note: OVC makes no representation concerning the accuracy of data from non-Department of Justice sources.

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Losses per Criminal Victimization (Including Attempts)

	Productivity	Medical Care/ Ambulance	Mental Health Care	Police/ Fire Svcs	Social Victim Svcs	Ptop. Loss Damage	Subtotal: Tangible Losses	Quality of Life	Total
Fatal Crime
Rape, Assault, etc.	$1,000,000	$16,300	$4,800	$1,300	$ 0	$ 120	$1,030,000	$1,910,000	$2,940,000
Arson Deaths	724,000	17,600	4,800	1,900	0	21,600	770,000	1,970,000	2,740,000
DWI	1,150,000	18,300	4,800	740	0	9,700	1,180,000	1,995,000	3,180,000
Child Abuse	2,200	430	2,500	29	1,800	10	7,93152,371	60,000
SexualAbuse (incl.rape)	2,100	490	5,800	56	1,100	0	9,500	89,800	99,000
Physical Abuse	3,400	790	2,700	20	2,100	26	9,000	57,500	67,000
Emotional Abuse	900	0	2,700	20	2,100	0	5,700	21,100	27,000
Rape & Sexual Assault
(excluding Child Abuse)	2,200	500	2,200	37	27	100	5,100	81,400	87,000
Other Assault or Attempt	950	425	76	60	16	26	1,550	7,800	9,400
NCVS with Injury	3,100	1,470	97	84	46	39	4,800	19,300	24,000
Age 0-11 with Injury	2,800	1,470	100	84	46	39	4,600	28,100	33,000
Non-NCVS Domestic	760	310	81	0	0	39	1,200	10,000	11,000
No Injury	70	0	65	69	9	15	200	1,700	2,000
Robbery or Attempt	950	370	66	130	25	750	2,300	5,700	8,000
With Injury	2,500	1,000	65	160	44	1,400	5,200	13,800	19,000
No Injury	75	0	66	110	15	400	700	1,300	2,000
Drunk Driving	2,800	1,400	82	40	?	1,600	6,000	11,900	18,000
With Injury	12,100	6,400	82	120	?	3,600	22,300	48,400	71,000
No Injury	170	0	82	17	0	1,000	1,300	1,400	2,700
Arson	1,750	1,100	18	1,000	?	15,500	19,500	18,000	37,500
With Injury	15,400	10,000	24	1,000	?	22,400	49,000	153,000	202,000
No Injury	8	0	18	1,000	0	14,600	16,000	500	16,000
Larceny or Attempt	8	0	6	80	1	270	370	0	370
Burglary or Attempt	12	0	5	130	5	970	1,100	300	1,400
Motor Vehicle Theft or Attempt	45	0	5	140	0	3,300	3,500	300	3,700
*Child Neglect	25	3	910	2	840	0	1,800	7,900	9,700
Source: Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look, National Institute of Justice Research Report, U.S. Department of Justice, National Institutute of Justice, Washington, D.C., February 1995.
Notes: All estimates in 1996 dollars. Totals may not add due to rounding. Major categories are in bold, subcategories listed under bold headings. ? = unknown.
*Non-educational child neglect is not included in any of the total figures in the remaining tables. See text.

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