Expenditure on Crime in the Netherlands

Abstract

In order to increase safety and maintain the rule of law the government needs to respond to crime. This carries a cost. The government’s response to crime is accompanied by a corresponding response from the corporate sector and private individuals. Citizens and businesses that (expect to) sustain damage, are taking initiatives to limit this damage. This too carries a cost. In this report, we will attempt to gain more of an insight into the costs incurred. There are three key questions: • How much does the government spend on combating crime and on enforcing criminal law, and how has this developed in the period 1995-2004? • How much are citizens and the corporate sector spending on prevention in 2004? • How high is the financial damage caused by crime in 2004? Government expenditure for combating crime and law enforcement has increased from 2.5 billion euro in 1995 to 4.2 billion euro in 2004. This is an increase of 70%. Per capita this amounts to € 260, which is approximately € 100 euro more than in 1995. Most money is spent on investigation and prevention, the least on victim care. Execution also claims a large part of the budget. In 2004, expenditure per recorded crime amounts to almost 3,200 euro as opposed to more than 2,000 euro in 1995. This is an increase of 57%. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for approximately 30% of all expenditure. The Ministry of Justice is accountable for approximately 60% of expenditure on combating crime and law enforcement. The greatest part of this total goes to the Correctional Institutions Service. Other major sources of expenditure for the Ministry of Justice are the Public Prosecution Service, the Council for the Judiciary, subsidized legal aid and the Probation and After-Care Service. The remaining 10% of expenditure is attributed to other ministries, municipalities and provinces. Prevention measures taken by households, companies and institutions are found to be 3.3 billion euro on an annual basis. This is over 200 euro per capita. This figure does not include government expenditure on prevention. In total the damage sustained as a result of crime amounts to 12.6 billion euro on an annual basis. This is approximately 775 euro per capita. The total cost of crime in the Netherlands is 20 billion euro on an annual basis. This is more than € 1,200 per capita. In this respect the Dutch expenditure on the combating of crime and law enforcement does not differ very much from other countries.