The Real Cost Of Crime In Lexington During 2009
The Cost of Crime in 2009 – - – $58,713,663.00
The Cost to Incarcerate in the Fayette County Jail for 2009 – - – $26,280,000.00.
That’s DOUBLE the Cost of Incarceration!!!
The anti-incarceration crowd and their accomplices in the media never – never mention the COST of CRIME to victims – they only complain about the COST to INCARCERATE the criminals who commit all of those crimes.
The cost of incarcerating 1,200 inmates in the Fayette County Jail @ $60 per day:
1,200 inmates x $60 per day = $72,000 daily cost of incarceration.
$72,000 x 365 days per year = $26,280,000 annual cost of incarceration.
How to calculate the REAL cost of crime to the victim?
Mark Cohen, an analyst for the Federal Sentencing Commission, determined the real cost of crime by calculating the costs of pain, suffering and fear as a result of crime. How? In part, on jury verdicts in civil trials and how they apportioned damages between direct economic financial losses suffered by a crime victim and the pain and suffering they endured as a result of the crime they suffered.
Cohen’s estimated average per-crime cost to victims was calculated in 1984 (using the value of the dollar in 1985) as follows:
| Rape | $51,058 |
| Robbery | $12,594 |
| Assault | $12,028 |
| Personal Theft | $181 |
| Auto Theft | $3,127 |
| Burglary | $939 |
The Cost of these Crimes to Crime Victims in 2009 Compared to the Cost in 1985 (using Cohen’s 1984 cost calculations):
| Specific Crime | No. of Specific Crimes | Cost Per Crime (in 1985 dollars) | Cost of 2009 Crimes (in 1985 dollars) | Cost of 2009 Crimes (in 2009 dollars) |
| Rape | 110 | $51,058 | $5,616,380 | $11,288,923 |
| Robbery | 531 | $12,594 | $6,687,414 | $13,441,702 |
| Assault | 1,002 | $12,028 | $12,052,056 | $24,224,632 |
| Larceny | 6,301 | $181 | $1,191,523 | $2,394,961 |
| Auto Theft | 504 | $3,127 | $1,576,008 | $3,167,776 |
| Burglary | 2,223 | $939 | $2,087,397 | $4,195,668 |
| Total | $29,210,778 | $58,713,663 |
Determining the Cost of Crime in 2009 Dollars:
A great tool when converting the present value of a dollar compared to the dollar’s value in previous years is the CPI Inflation Calculator. This calculator represents the changes in prices from year to year, and has been calculated since 1913.
Based on the CPI Inflation Calculator, $1.00 in 1985 would be worth $2.01 today.
The Bottom Line:
In 2009, the REAL cost of crime to Lexington citizens was $58.7 million dollars.
The cost to incarcerate criminals ($26.28 million dollars) would be less than one-half the cost of those crimes committed in Lexington during 2009.
Editor’s Comment: You do the math. Does it cost half as much to lock up those who commit crime-after-crime than it does to put them back on the street? The answer is simple. But the anti-incarceration gang and their accomplices in the media are more than happy to let the criminals out and shift the cost of crime from the government to the backs of the very citizens they are supposed to protect. They aren’t listening to us.