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Crime victims in 1992 lost $17.6 billion in direct costs, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These costs included losses from property theft or damage, cash losses, medical expenses, and amount of pay lost because of injury or activities related to the crime. (Klaus, Patsy A., 1994, "The Costs of Crime to Victims," page 1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

Economic loss of some kind occurred in 71 percent of all personal crimes. For crimes of violence, economic loss occurred in 23 percent of victimizations. Household crimes of burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft involved economic loss in 91 percent of all victimizations. (Ibid., page 1)

Among crimes that involved loss, about 12 percent of personal crimes and 24 percent of household crimes involved economic losses of $500 or more. (Ibid., page 1)

Lost property was not recovered in 89 percent of personal crimes and 85 percent of household crimes in 1992. (Ibid., page 1)

For crimes of violence involving injuries in which medical expenses were known, 65 percent involved costs of $250 or more. (Ibid., page 2)

Property valued at $15.6 billion was stolen in connection with all Crime Index offenses in 1994. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1995, "Crime in the United States, 1994," U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

The average dollar loss per reported arson in 1994 was $9,761. (Ibid.)

In 1994, the value of property stolen during burglaries was estimated at $3.6 billion.

(Ibid.)

The value of property stolen in connection with property crimes was estimated at $15.1 billion for 1994, or $1,248 per offense reported. (Ibid.)

Monetary loss attributed to property stolen in connection with robbery offenses was estimated at $496 million. Bank robberies resulted in the highest average losses, $3,551 per offense; convenience store robberies the lowest, $387. (Ibid.)

The estimated monetary loss due to motor vehicle thefts was nearly $7.6 billion, for an average of $4,940 per vehicle. (Ibid.)

Crime victimizations occurring in the workplace cost about half a million employees 1,751,100 days of work each year, an average of 3.5 days per crime. This missed work resulted in over $55 million in lost wages annually, not including days covered by sick and annual leave. (Ronet Bachman, Ph.D., 1994, "Violence and Theft in the Workplace," page 1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

Alcohol-related crashes cost society $44 billion per year, yet this conservative estimate does not include pain, suffering and lost quality of life. These indirect costs raise the alcohol-related crash figure to a staggering $134 billion in 1993. (Miller, Ted. R. and Lawrence J. Blincoe, 1994, "Incidence and Cost of Alcohol-involved Crashes," pp. 583-591, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 26, Number 5)

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