CORRECTIONAL INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

A program is economically efficient if its monetary benefits outweigh its monetary costs. Discussions of the economic efficiency of correctional intervention and other crime and offender prevention programs can be very persuasive and have gained wide appeal in political, policy, and academic settings. However, little is known about the economic efficiency of crime prevention strategies. This article examines the contribution, both methodological and empirical, of cost benefit analyses of correctional intervention programs designed to reduce reoffending in the community. A review of the literature revealed only seven published studies that have presented information on monetary costs and benefits. Future cost-benefit research on correctional intervention should be concerned with standardizing the measurement of costs and benefits, especially in well-designed studies comparing experimental and control groups with before and after measures of offending. A standard list of monetary costs and benefits that should be measured in all studies is needed.