NCJ Number
148308
Journal
Business Week Dated: (December 13, 1993) Pages: 72-75,78-81
Date Published
1993
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Crime involves direct and indirect costs of $425 billion each year and requires several measures for more effective prevention and control
Abstract
The United States spends about $90 billion each year on the criminal justice system, which is less than the country spends on toiletries. Other costs include the $65 billion spent on alarm systems, private security personnel, and security systems; the $50 billion cost of urban decay in lost jobs and residents who leave cities; the $45 billion value of stolen goods; the $5 billion in victim medical services; and the $170 billion value of lost and broken lives. Unfortunately, crime control policies have been a series of quick, cheap fixes. New prisons are being built, but the number of police has barely kept pace with the growing population. Meanwhile, economic and social programs that could quickly reduce crime have been largely ignored. The most effective approach would be to increase spending on police and courts; focus punishment on longtime offenders; control drug-related crime by drug testing of offenders on probation; expand job training for youth; shift to community policing; and reduce violence by expanding conflict resolution programs in schools, strengthening Federal gun control, and buying back illegally owned handguns in cities. Figures and photographs