Murder represents a squandering of life.
The quality of life for many individuals is considerably lower because of the threat of violent and non-violent crime. Crime induces self-protection and these resources are an added cost of crime. Property crime reduces investment, because individuals resist investment, if criminals reap the returns. The time of criminals, which could otherwise be spent productively, is also a social loss. These significant social costs imply that research on crime is among the most important areas in economics.