Cologne (NRW) – The victims are often punished twice. People who have experienced a violent crime experience financial loss after the crime. This is now proven by a study from the University of Cologne.
Dr. Anna Bindler, Professor of Economics at the University of Cologneexamined the financial impact of crime in the field of “Economics of Crime” – both for individuals and for society as a whole.
For society alone, costs arise annually Cost of the crimes in the billions. This includes expenses for court proceedings, combating crime and the treatment and consequences of health problems, which are financed by taxpayers.
Victim after crime “less productive”
In addition to these direct costs, individuals incur indirect losses because victims of crime are less able to participate productively in the labor market after the crime or suffer intangible damage to their quality of life.
The Cologne scientist, together with co-author Nadine Ketel from the Free University of Amsterdam, calculated that victims of crimes earn on average almost 13 percent less than before the crime. In addition, they are up to six percent more dependent on social benefits.
Women are particularly affected
Women are hit particularly hard after, for example, B. have experienced domestic violence from their partners. One year after the crime, they lose on average more than 14 percent of their income. If there is a threat of violence, their income drops by almost 18 percent.
It will then take up to four years for your income to reach the previous level. In the study, the scientists used data from the Netherlands. But Bindler suspects that their results can also be partially transferred to Germany. Study results from other countries also produced similar results.
The costs of crime also include long-term consequences. However, these costs are difficult to causally understand. After experiencing violence, the victims lose their job because they can no longer do their old job due to physical or psychological consequences. Or they can no longer return to their apartment after the crime and have to move.
