NCJ Number
153186
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 22 Issue: 6 Dated: (1994) Pages: 569-575
Date Published
1994
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article uses the 1989 study of T. Gray and K.W. Olson to show how rehabilitation can be measured using a cost-benefit analysis.
Abstract
The subjects of this analysis were 112 burglars sentenced in Maricopa County (Arizona) in 1980; burglary was the most serious conviction for each offender at the time of sentencing. Ninety- three percent of the offenders were male, 53 percent were white, 25 percent were Hispanic, 18 percent were black and 4 percent were Native American. The analysis was based on an estimation of the cost of these offenders' crimes, including costs to the police, attorneys, and courts, as well as losses suffered by victims. The cost-benefit portion of the analysis considered the annual benefits of rehabilitation for each offender equal to the difference between the annual cost of his or her prior convictions and recidivism. The analysis results show that it is the change in the cost of criminal activity, and not the cost of prior offenses or recidivism alone, that constitutes the level of dehabilitation. According to these figures, prison clearly costs more, and generates fewer benefits in terms of rehabilitation. 4 tables, 5 notes, and 38 references