Other billions in costs are coercively imposed through regulations and immoral laws. This loss of life is far greater than that attributable to private criminals. Yes, private criminals violate the individual rights of millions of people in this and other countries every year. Only governments can systematically and on a large scale violate the rights of billions of individuals. Whether through censorship, taxation and regulation, or outright murder, government officials and their henchmen make private criminals look like pikers.
Public crime is unprecedented in both degree and scope.
In the sense given above, governmental violations are more destructive and immoral than private violations and, as such, more deserving of attention by liberty advocates and the public at large. A child who punches another child and steals his candy and a Joseph Stalin who orders the death of millions of individuals both are morally culpable for initiating violence. They are hardly equally destructive. The same principle applies when comparing private crime to public crime. We can demonstrate how inappropriate governmental behavior makes it more difficult for ordinary citizens to confront and control private crime.