(The Center Square) – While rising crime has numerous impacts on Arizonans, one consequence that is not always front of mind is the cost associated with crime.
According to a newly released report from the Common Sense Institute and the Arizona Chamber Foundation, the cost of crime in Arizona reached $20.6 billion in 2022 alone.
“This equals an average cost per Arizonan of $2,796, or for the median household, roughly $7,200 – nearly 10% of annual household income,” reads the report. “Most of these costs (87%) are due to the 167,853 violent crimes committed in 2022. The cost of crime in 2022 was 25% higher than it otherwise would have been if pre-2015 crime trends had continued. CSI estimates that this recent surge accounted for $4.1 billion of the total $20.6 billion cost of crime in 2022.”
The CSI attributes the rise in costs to changing policies and leniency when it comes to arresting those committing crimes and the persecution of those convicted of crimes. The report looks at the “Great Crime Decline” in the U.S. that ended in 2014. In 1994, the nation’s largest crime bill, Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, passed, initiating almost two decades of crime decline in the U.S.
“Policies aimed at rolling back mandatory minimum sentencing, truth-in-sentencing, bail reforms, and a reliance on non-criminal interventions for drug users and sellers have reset our progress on crime,” reads the report. “The public and lawmakers should take caution in the pursuit of policies that are sold as cost saving measures in the criminal justice system. Rolling back laws aimed to curb the violent crime rates of the past may prove more costly to Arizonans in the end, and jeopardize their health, safety, and well-being.”
According to anecdotal evidence obtained by CSI, there is a reluctance to prosecute drug offenders in Pima County and in Tucson, officers are required to drop arestees off at a hospital if they have drugs in their system upon arrest after which they are able to walk away freely.
The other contributor to the increase in crime, according to the CSI, is the influx of illegal crossings and drug trafficking at the Southern border. According to data from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, noncitizens make up 6.8% of Arizona’s incarcerated population despite only making up 5% of the general population.
Additionally, noncitizens make up 9.9% of those incarcerated for murder, 18.3% for child molestation, 10.6% for sex offenses, 12.3% for rape and 13.2% for trafficking illegal drugs.
“After falling nearly uninterrupted for over two decades, violent crime in the U.S. and Arizona reversed course beginning in 2015, rising 9.9% in the U.S. between 2014 and 2017 alone, according to FBI Uniform Crime Reports,” reads the report. “The increase in Arizona was even more pronounced; Violent crime soared nearly 29% between 2014 and 2017, with the number of homicides and aggravated assaults increasing 36% and 45%, respectively, effectively erasing over a decade of progress in the fight against violent crime.”
And, the crime rate has continued to rise, with murder rates alone increasing 47% since 2014.
“Since 2014, the violent crime rate in Arizona has averaged nearly 18% higher than the national average, and Arizona ranks worse than most states in all categories of violent and property crime,” reads the report, noting that Arizona ranks 14th in the country for violent crime, 12th for robbery and 14th for larceny and theft. And, with rising crime comes rising costs.
“CSI estimates that Arizonans faced $4.1 billion more, or 25% higher costs associated with crime in 2022 than what they would have experienced according to prior trends,” reads the report. “The cost of this excess crime alone reached $1.7 billion.”
The report also notes that there are unknown costs for crimes that go unreported. In 2022, only 41.5% of violent crime and 31.8% of property crime was reported to the police. Furthermore, one of the most costly crimes was also one of the most unreported – rape.
In 2022, only about 22% of rapes were reported, with over 24,000 rapes in Arizona going unreported – an associated cost the CSI estimates to be $5,648.
To address the cost of crime, the CSI recommends stricter policies targeting crime.
“Policy makers often discuss at length the additional costs of, for instance, hiring more police officers or incarcerating offenders, but less often consider the broader costs to society due to higher crime rates that can accompany the relaxation of criminal justice policies,” reads the report. “The change in crime trends is not coincident; it is attributable to policy. The public and policy makers alike must not unlearn the lessons of the past and should be cautious of policies that take the previous crime declines for granted.”
