Estimating the Financial Costs of Victimization, United States, 2017-2018 (ICPSR 37260)
Despite reductions in U.S. crime rates in recent decades, crime victimization continues to be a pressing problem with enormous societal costs. This project, conducted by the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) in partnership with the Urban Institute (Urban) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), is an assessment of the field of cost of victimization research. The product is a menu of recommendations for future research studies and practitioner tools to advance the field. One objective of the project was to keep the focus squarely on the victims, and consider what information is most needed by those who serve them. Relatedly, another objective was to recognize that even if the proximate victim is a business, the government, or non-profit organization, individuals still suffer.
Given the victim-centered focus, the project team conducted several primary data collections designed to obtain input from practitioners and victims about their experiences and needs. Focus groups were conducted with three practitioner groups: Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) compensation and assistance administrators, State Administering Agency (SAA) and state Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) directors, and civil attorneys who pursue tort claims for damages for crime victims. As well, the project team conducted a nationwide survey of victim service providers and a smaller survey of victimization survivors.
The project team also re-framed the taxonomy of victimization costs pioneered and revised by Cohen over the years (Cohen, 2005, e.g.) from the perspective of various practitioner users - based on who covers different costs - and adds factors that may increase or decrease costs they may be estimating. The project team also conducted a literature review that consists of two major sections: one focused on how costs of victimization are estimated and the other on estimation methods and data sources concerning the incidence, prevalence, and concentration of victimization.
The data collection activities and literature reviews, combined with extensive input from an advisory board of experts throughout the project, inform the menu of recommendations proposed in Volume III. These focus on topical areas where more information is needed; methodological recommendations to improve estimates; and practitioner resources and tools to help disseminate research developments, assist in calculating local estimates, and better equip practitioners to communicate and use victimization cost estimates effectively in the field.