Cost per incident of alcohol-related crime in New South Wales

Introduction and Aims. The purpose of this paper is to provide a per incident of crime cost measure for New South Wales that is suitable for the use within cost-effectiveness studies of interventions aimed at reducing the burden of alcohol. This paper seeks to quantify the individual cost of an assault, property damage, sexual offence and disorderly conduct in New South Wales. Design and Methods. Costs regarding the criminal act, police involvement, prosecution in criminal courts and incarceration are estimated and then using a four-stage probability analysis, the expected cost per incident is calculated. Results. It is found that expected cost per incident for assault, sexual offence, property damage and disorderly conduct (in 2006 dollar values) is $3982, $5976, $1166 and $501 respectively. Discussion and Conclusions. A large total cost figure is a powerful policy motivator; however, for the purpose of economic analysis it is often more useful to estimate the per incident cost. This research furthers the existing research on cost of crime estimates and facilitates future cost-effectiveness and other economic analysis of interventions that reduce alcohol-related crime. © 2012 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.