Cuadernos de Economía

ISSN : 0210-0266
Untitled-43

El coste económico de la victimización y la seguridad ciudadana en España

  • Javier Cifuentes-Faura , Universidad de Murcia

Keywords:

Economic cost; Victimization; Public safety; Public policies.

Abstract

It is important to estimate the costs of victimization, as they will be useful in raising awareness of the magnitude of the problem, placing it on national and international agendas, identifying areas for improvement in the allocation of both public and private resources, and designing appropriate policies that will lead to the prevention of crime affecting the victim. Some costs are incurred as a direct result of victimization, and others are incurred indirect- ly. The expenses that the government assumes to prevent crime and that which it invests in citizen security to avoid victims, as well as the cost that citizens invest to protect themsel- ves, together with the pain and harm that the victim and his or her family members assume, determine the economic and social cost of victimization. Based on the official data recorded by the Ministry of the Interior, an approximation is made of victimization focused on gender violence and minors, knowing that these data are underestimated, since there are actions that are not reported and, therefore, do not appear in the records. The estimated cost of these cases of victimization is analyzed, which will be useful for those responsible for formulating public policies.