NCJ Number
75946
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1980) Pages: 131-138
Date Published
1980
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the efforts of the Australian Institute of Criminology to gain information on international costs of crime by working through diplomatic channels.
Abstract
Information on costs of crime in any one country is difficult to compile and most efforts to present the costs of crime have had shortcomings flowing from the ambiguity of data and a lack of precise information on both costs and benefits. International information is rare. In an attempt to obtain more data on crime control expenditures the institute has analyzed the Australian figures and has sought to extend the information transnationally. With the cooperation of most foreign embassies in Canberra and the assistance of the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its embassies abroad, information which could be internationally instructive if not yet comparative, was compiled by means of a brief questionnaire. Information concerning the most recent expenditures relating to crime control and total budgetary expenditures for all government activities was requested. Information obtained from 25 nations in Asia, Europe and Oceania, was used. In most of the countries surveyed, large amounts of public finance are spent on crime control. The avarage proportion of total budget expenditure allocated to crime control is about 3.9 percent. While police are the crime control agency with the largest amount of expenditure, other elements of criminal justice also account for a large amount of public finance. More research is needed to refine the limited data and to extend the range of countries under consideration. Then it may be possible to explore relationships between investments on crime control and such factors as crime rates, population structure, level of urbanization, economic development, income and quality of life. Statistical data is included.