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Counting the Cost A recent study conducted by David A. Anderson, Centre College’s Paul G. Blazer Professor of Economics, esti- mates the cost of crime per year as $3.2 trillion, which is more than the cost of health care. Costs include the costs of fear and agony and private expenditures on crime pre- vention, such as security systems. In a utopian world without crime there would, for example, be no need for any money to be spent on safes—or even locks for doors and windows. In a 2012 report from ASIS International (ASIS) and the Institute of Finance and Management (IOFM) called “The United States Security Industry: Size and Scope, Insights, Trends, and Data,” the annual cost of security in the United States is $350 billion, including the use of private detectives, a practice that is increasing. Altogether, crime costs us far more than we think—before we even consider the actual cash val- ue of stolen property. Each year, our society spends $5.8 billion a year on medical treatment for the vic- tims of crime—even those not directly affected feel financial pain by paying tax contributions to fed- eral welfare programs and higher health insurance premiums. Yet this is just the beginning. Consider, for example, what economists call the “opportunity costs” of crime—

The presence of a home security system can in itself deter burglars.

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