Economic and Social Effects of Crime

Given the extensive economic and social costs of crime, it often has a major impact in politics. Since the 1970s calls for law and order have led to tough stances by politicians on crime. Public safety is a major issue, and the fear of crime is frequently used by politicians to influence voters. Even with the decrease in crime rates through the 1990s, fear of crime remained a political issue since building more prisons, making sentences longer, and expanding police forces require taxpayer dollars.

In the early 2000s the cost of crime increased dramatically after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., in September 2001. The attacks killed three thousand people and presented staggering costs in terms of destruction. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security, which became operational in March 2003. The department's budget in 2004 was almost $37 billion, which was used to increase security in airports and at our nation's borders, and to develop counterterrorism and bioterrorism (the use of biological weapons such as poisons or gases) measures. Fear of further crime or terrorism drove up the costs of crime and in many cases drastically altered people's daily habits as the War on Terror unfolded.