While other cost of crime studies attempt to make penal resources more cost effective, this approach uses monetary figures as a way of measuring crime. However, unlike other crime indicators such as police statistics and victimization studies, this approach emphasizes less spectacular and less prosecuted crimes which cost society large sums of money. An analysis of the public and private cost of crime control shows that the money spent on private security (such as security systems in stores, private police, and insurance costs) has increased considerably and now accounts for more than half of crime control expenditures. The analysis of the estimated financial losses due to crimes indicates that offenses resulting from carelessness, especially traffic accidents, pose a significant problem. However, the most costly offenses remain business crimes, including tax fraud while border offenses become less important in a United Europe. The text includes detailed statistical charts and a bibliography.