The cost of one crime in Russia can be estimated at 135.2 thousand rubles. Researchers from the European University (St. Petersburg) estimated how much it is necessary to increase the annual income of the victim of an offense in order to return her life satisfaction to the level as if the crime had not happened, RBC reports.
The total costs of crime in 2021, according to experts, amounted to 1.75 trillion rubles, or 1.3% of GDP. According to a survey conducted by the Institute for Law Enforcement Problems in mid-2021, in the 12 months preceding the survey, 10.9% of the population identified themselves as victims of crime in Russia. Accordingly, the overall estimate was derived as the product of the population of working age and over, a share of 10.9%, and an offsetting increase in income.
In scientific work, what the respondent himself considers to be a crime is considered a crime. In a similar way, researchers assessed the overall level of fear of crime: its “price” was 6.82 trillion rubles, or 5.2% of GDP (42.5% of respondents said that they were afraid of becoming a victim of a crime).
The study estimates the cost of crime in Russia by an indirect method – through the assessment of life satisfaction.
The RCVS survey included 3,000 victims of crimes and 11,400 people who had no such experience (participants were selected randomly). Respondents were asked about income, household size, victimization experience in the past 12 months and five years, and fear of crime. The data were supplemented by Rosstat data on the average income in the respondent’s region of residence.
It follows from the results of the survey that 10.9% of the respondents were victims of crimes in the last 12 months, and their average life satisfaction was 6.225 on a ten-point scale. Satisfaction of those who had not experienced a crime was higher – 6,849. The experience of crime victims is associated with a decrease in life satisfaction by about 13%, follows from the work. At the same time, an important observation of researchers is the fact that the fear of crime is no less associated with a decrease in life satisfaction: for example, those who are afraid of becoming a victim of crime feel 16% less satisfied with life.
Source: Rosbalt
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