#4501. ACCOUNTING FOR THE COSTS OF CRIME IN ASSESSING CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICIES

August 2026publication date
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Journal’s subject area:
Sociology and Political Science;
Public Administration;
Business, Management and Accounting (all);
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Abstract:
Benefit-cost analysis is a critical tool to support effective decision-making in setting public policy. Researchers who conduct benefit-cost analyses generally aim, to the extent possible, to monetize all the costs and benefits of proposed policy changes, including those that are inherently intangible, to allow for direct comparisons that support informed decisions. In this column, we address the application of benefit-cost methods to assessing criminal justice policy, focusing on the methods for monetizing the costs of crime. A full accounting of the intangible costs of crime contributes to effective assessment of and decisions about proposed criminal justice policies and programs, such as sentencing guidelines and prisoner programs. The intangible costs of crime are overstated by the popular methods for monetizing the intangible costs, and these estimated intangible costs tend to overwhelm the more directly tangible costs associated with crime. Consequently, they worry that use of these methods overstates the benefits of policies that reduce crime or recidivism and leads to overinvestment in those policies.
Keywords:
Benefit-cost analyses; reduce crime; intangible costs of crime; state policies

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