Econ 14 Files
Econ 14 Lecture
Notes
Lecture 26: Crime
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Economics 14 |
Lecture 26: Crime
rational criminal model
costs of crime
Rational Criminal Model
The rational criminal model assumes that the decision to committ a crime is one of risk versus return. A legal job has a low return but carries no risk of being arrested. Crime provides a high return but there is a risk of being caught and punished.implications:
- crime falls when legal income rises
- greater legal opportunities
less crime - fewer legal opportunities more crime
- greater legal opportunities
- crime falls when the likelihood and consequences of getting caught rise
- deter crime by (a) making the chances of being punished greater and (b) by making the punishment more severe
Costs of Crime
- 1.8 million violent crimes and 12 million non-violent crimes are reported each year
- $100 billion a year is spent on police, the justice system, and prisons
- 11 million people are arrested and 360,000 imprisoned each year
- over 1 million Americans in prison
costs of a crime
- value of the items stolen
- victim's loss of actual or potential income
- psychological trauma of victims
- value of the lives of murder victims
The costs of crime have been estimated to be between $2000 and $3000 per average crime ($500 if pain and suffering of the victims is ignored).
The average criminal commits 15-20 crimes a year. So, the savings from keeping the average criminal off the street is between $7500 and $60,000 a year. Compare this to the average cost of holding a criminal in jail, $22,000.
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David A. Latzko Business and Economics Division Pennsylvania State University, York Campus office: 13 Main Classroom Building phone: (717) 771-4115 fax: (717) 771-4062 e-mail: web: www.yk.psu.edu/~dxl31 |
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