The Cost vs Social Investment
THE COST OF DOING NOTHING:
Costs of crime include (but are not limited to) costs of police and courts, incarceration ($40,000 - $80,000+), transitional housing/programming, losses within the community and families (which often includes increased social service agencies interventions with families of the incarcerated), increased insurance premiums for covered losses, health care costs.
Beyond financial costs, the human costs have no price tag. Incarcerated youth tend to repeat incarcerations developing a pattern that may extend into adulthood. Rather than creating a fear or aversion to going back to jail, the experience of “lockup” often becomes an opportunity in which the youth gains skills from his/her incarcerated peers to become a “better” criminal. Cycles of violence and revenge create ever-increasing circles of family and community loss. While some might see death of a delinquent as “no great loss” to the community, most delinquent youth see the death of a peer as needing revenge, perpetuating the cycle of violence in communities and often spreading the toll to include innocent bystanders as victims.
SOCIAL INVESTMENT IN INTERVENTION:
Well-timed comprehensive interventions during adolescence cost a small fraction of the price of teen or adult incarceration. School drop-out rates and youth arrest rates identify communities where the needs of at-risk youth exceed resources. ACCEPT, Inc. can provide programming expertise and resources at no or low-cost to community entities. Philanthropic and business partnerships are essential to implementing programs in resource-poor communities to avert the long-term costs of unaddressed needs in these communities, youth and their families.