U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Cost of Crime to Victims

NCJ Number
106863
Author(s)
M A Cohen
Date Published
1986
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This study aimed to estimate the monetary value of the pain, suffering, and fear experienced by crime victims and thereby to provide more accurate estimates than those based only on the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the victim.
Abstract
Data from the National Crime Survey, the Uniform Crime Reports, the National Survey of Crime Severity, Jury Verdict Research, Inc., and other research literature formed the basis of the analysis. Actual injury rates were combined with jury awards in personal injury accident cases to estimate pain, suffering, and fear. Crime-related death rates were combined with estimates of the value of life to arrive at monetary values for the risk of death. Average cost estimates for individual crime included $1,372 for a household burglary; $12,584 for a robbery; and $51,058 for a rape. The aggregate annual cost of crime to victims is estimated at $92.6 billion. Rankings based on surveys were found to underestimate the severity of violent crimes in relation to crimes like petty larceny and motor vehicle theft. Data tables, footnotes, and 33 references.