Abstract

This study estimates that the economic cost of crime in Chile, using the accountancy method, is $1.35 billion as at 2002; that is, this cost is equivalent to 2.06% of Chile’s GDP. Crimes included in the estimation are murder, robbery, larceny—theft, burglary, wounding, rape and sexual assaults, domestic violence and economic felonies such as fraud, forgery and so on. Consequential costs are the most important, representing 68% of the total cost of crime. Government spending represents 23% of the total and anticipatory cost account for the remaining 9%. Chile presents higher level of crime than most developed countriesÿÿthough less than most developing nationsÿÿbut government’s spending on citizen’s security is considerably lower than that of the US and several other European countries.