The socially efficient level of crime
against their costs, namely, the probability of being caught plus the possible punishments such as imprisonment and fines. If their marginal private benefit (MPB) exceeds the marginal private cost (MPC), it would be a rational choice for committing a crime. Therefore, the choice of whether to commit crime would be hugely dependent on the opportunities available to them and the consequences of crimes (Philip J. Cook, Stephen Machin, Olivier Marie, Giovanni Mastrobuoni, 2013). Moreover, rational criminals would also weigh up the benefits and costs of working a minimum wage job and paying tax to the government compared to committing a crime without paying tax. If the net benefit of the criminal offence is greater than the minimum wage minus tax, crime would be the most rational and attractive alternative in order to make a living. The social costs of crime can be measured by the social loss from offences and the expenditures of resources and punishments that minimize the loss (Becker, 1968). This can be categorized into three components: the cost in anticipation, consequence and response of crime. Firstly, the cost in the anticipation of crime, which is an indirect cost on the detection and the prevention of crime. An example would be expenditure on security equipment, such as CCTV and burglar alarms, to prevent burglary. Secondly, the costs in the consequences of crime, which is a direct economic loss of the crime or physical or mental harm on the victims. An example here would be the total value of the property loss and damage from a theft. Finally, the cost in the response of crime, which is also an indirect cost on the law enforcements, for example, the policing and criminal justice system expenditures (Matthew Heeks, Sasha Reed, Mariam Tafsiri and Stuart Prince, 2018).
Source: The total costs of crime in England and Wales in the 2015/16 by Home Office (Matthew Heeks, Sasha Reed, Mariam Tafsiri and Stuart Prince, 2018)
In the table above, the total cost of crime in England and Wales in 2015/16 was estimated to be approximately £60bn, including the cost in anticipation, consequence and response of crime. The value
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