The cost of crime in Canada

Summary: Since we wrote our first reports on the cost of crime in 1996 (Brantingham and Easton, 1996, 1998), there have been many new estimates for Canada and for other countries. In 1998, Canada by our estimate spent over $42.4 billion on crime, of which $15.5 billion was associated with what we think of as the direct cost of crime and the remainder associated with the less easily measured consequences for the victims. Today, with more detailed estimates we find that Canadians spend over $85 billion being victimized by, catching, and punishing crime. Victims' losses through criminal acts committed against them amount to over $47 billion and constitute more than half of the total. While the crime rate has been falling since the early 1990s, our current measure of cost of crime is more detailed than previous estimates. It reveals that the cost of crime in Canada is over 5% of our national product. These estimates continue to be underestimates. Our discussion highlights the costs associated with crime and the limitations that we still face in providing an adequate costing.