Historically, the cost of crime was understood solely in terms of direct costs to victims or to the criminal justice system. Whereas tangible costs are substantial, they do not fully represent the impact of crimes on victims. An age-related difference in recuperative abilities was not assessed. The study expanded upon NCVS estimates to include lifetime medical costs and legal costs to recover medical costs from perpetrators or insurance companies. The average murder puts 1.5 to 2.5 persons into counseling, and mental health care costs are the largest tangible costs of rape and child abuse victims.
More research is recommended.
Overall, police and fire service costs are a relatively small portion of the total cost of crime, but in any one municipality, they may be significant. An early release from prison program in a community was calculated to cost less in terms of the costs of crime committed by the early release recidivists than the cost to build more prison space, when only tangible costs were included. Later, when the value of the community's pain, suffering and lost quality of life were considered, the costs of the early release program exceeded the cost of making prison space. This study's estimates of cost are higher because it added data where data were missing, undervalued or ignored by other studies. In some classes of crime, such as rape and domestic violence, victims can suffer repeatedly, so costs per victim are greater than costs per crime occurrence.