NCJ Number
112008
Journal
Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1988) Pages: 343-353
Date Published
1988
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on an alternative method of ranking the severity of crime.
Abstract
Previous studies of the seriousness of crime have attempted to elicit information from public surveys. The method employed in this study combines actual victim injury rates with jury awards in personal injury accident cases to estimate pain, suffering, and fear. Crime-related death rates are combined with estimates of the value of life to arrive at monetary values for the risk of death. These estimates are combined with out-of-pocket costs (such as medical costs and lost wages) to arrive at total dollar estimates of the cost of individual crimes to victims. These dollar estimates are then used to rank the seriousness of crimes. The one striking difference between the survey and monetary approaches appears to be the perceived difference between violent and nonviolent crimes. If these monetary estimates are taken at face value, they imply that individuals underestimate the severity of violent crimes relative to nonviolent crimes. The monetary estimates indicate that violent crimes are relatively more costly to victims. 3 tables, 11 footnotes, and 15 references. (Author abstract modified)