ABSTRACT
This chapter describes estimates of the costs and benefits of programs intended to reduce criminal behavior. The primary purpose of the estimates presented is to assist public-sector decision makers in allocating prevention and criminal justice resources. The chapter is limited to a summary discussion of the results of the Institute's cost-benefit model. The results described in the chapter present taxpayer estimates for one political jurisdiction in the United States: state and local governments in the state of Washington. It divides the research literature into five broad areas: early-childhood programs, middle-childhood programs, adolescent (nonjuvenile offender) programs, juvenile offender programs, and adult offender programs. Juvenile Intensive Supervision Programs (ISP) are designed for juvenile offenders serving a local sentence. Three of these programs are being implemented by the juvenile courts in Washington State as a result of recent legislative and administrative actions.
