Crime Facts

Here are some surprising facts about crime cited by Tyler Cowen from his reading of Mark Kleiman's book When Brute Force Fails:How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment.

In 1974 the average burglary resulted in about four days behind bars (that's the average sentence adjusted by the chance of being caught). The average 1974 burglary yielded about $320 (in today's dollars), which amounts to about $80 a day payment for time behind bars. Even forgetting about the fixed costs of getting a criminal record, or a longer criminal record, that screams out to me: "It isn't worth it!"

Today, for burglary, the average return per day in jail is $22. That is one reason why crime has gone down but the real question is why crime has not fallen even more.

Many burglars are not risk-averse or they underestimate their chances of being caught.

If you read Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, you realize how really low the "wages" of crime are. Sure the top dogs make a lot. But the vast majority of petty criminals would be better off working for minimum wage at MacDonalds.