Utah Cost of Crime

In 2010, Utah taxpayers’ spent over $1.3 billion relating to criminal justice in areas of police, courts, and corrections. This $470 per capita expense is an important and necessary component of public safety cost and is below what other states spend on a per capita level. Nonetheless, with shrinking budgets in the face of slow economic growth, Utah policy makers must be increasingly diligent when making decisions regarding how taxpayers’ monies are spent to enhance public safety and reduce crime. This report outlines a new method that provides policy makers with an instrument to better assess the economic efficacy of crime-reducing programs, particularly on those designed to reduce recidivism. It is based on two economic metrics: a taxpayer benefit-cost ratio and a direct measure of the cost per unit of recidivism reduction. Adept decisions by policy makers require that benefit and risk simultaneously be taken into consideration when choosing among recidivism reduction programs. This tool helps accomplish that goal.