A new report from the Department of Justice showed crime costs Canadians more than $43 billion annually..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, researchers calculated the total expenses related to crime, including costs such as police overtime, lost wages for victims, funeral expenses and trauma-related expenses..“Victims bear the direct costs of crime and incur both tangible and intangible costs,” said the report Costs of Crime in Canada. .“The tangible costs estimated in this study include medical costs.”.“The traumatic experience of being a victim can cause severe pain and suffering,” wrote researchers. “This study considers pain and suffering as an intangible cost.”.The annual financial impact of crime was estimated to be $43.2 billion..“Intangible costs do not have a market price” but were estimated at $14.5 billion annually..“Placing a monetary value on intangible costs may seem insensitive, but it is critical to estimating the costs of social phenomena,” said Costs of Crime. .“Intangible costs are very personal and affect victims acutely.”.“By no means does this study imply the effects of crime are ‘worth’ the values assigned to them,” wrote researchers. .“They simply provide a standard way to compare the extents of different social issues. Without including intangible costs, these costs analyses would be inadequate.”.The findings were based on data from 2014, which was chosen randomly..However, Canada's crime rate has increased since that time, according to a July 27 Statistics Canada report Police Reported Crime Statistics in Canada..The data revealed between 2014 and 2022, reported crimes to the police increased by 23%, rising from 1,793,612 incidents to 2,206,454 incidents..The latest survey counted:.796 homicides (up 54% from 516 in 2014)748 attempted murders (up 21% from 617)185,199 assaults (up 21% from 153,352)83,416 vehicle thefts (up 13% from 73,964)18,618 robberies (down 11% from 20,924)125,914 cases of breaking and entering (down 17% from 151,921).“Crime in Canada is a costly social phenomenon that affects everyone,” said the Justice Department report..“The effects of crime are far-reaching.”.“While some costs are tangible and more easily counted, e.g. actual dollars spent by an institution, others are intangible and more difficult to measure, e.g. pain and suffering,” said Costs of Crime. .“An important body of work has attempted to translate the intangible impacts of crime into economic losses or costs. Interpreting the impacts of crime in this way can help policymakers to budget and allocate resources more effectively.”
