It has been revealed that victims of crime earn an estimated 12.9 percent less in the aftermath of the incidents they were subjected to. This means that they become more reliant on the state and social security benefits. These findings come as a result of new research conducted by the University of Cologne and the VU Amsterdam.

The study, conducted by Associate Professor Anna Bindler and Assistant Professor Nadine Ketel, analysed data of more than 800,000 crime victims in the Netherlands over a 12-year period. It provides important insights into the real cost of crime for victims of crime.

The people conducting and analysing the findings of the research discovered that both men and women who had been victims of criminal incidents earnt up to 12.9 percent less than before the crime was perperatrated and this left them relying on social security benefits up to 6 percent more days per month. This meant that the economy suffered as there were fewer tax receipts being brought in.

This may be because some change to a lower-paid job, or lose employment because they are no longer able to continue their work due to physical or mental health impacts of the incident.

If people earned less following a crime, this could have a major impact on their ability to sustain a job as if someone is disabled and needs support in order to carry out and conduct the duties involved in the job, the amount of funding they receive may be withdrawn due to the fact that they may not be earning enough to qualify for support. This affects the economy as that person may have a job that caters for other people with disabilities and these people may now be left uncatered for. This means that they may not be able to survive in society as there won’t be someone who’s role it is to carry out the service needed for them.

The research also found that the income of women declined more than that of men for the examined offences.

One year after a violent crime, earnings decreased by up to 7.5 percent for males and up to 10.4 per cent for females.

After property crimes, especially robbery, males earned up to 8.4 percent less, while females faced a decline of up to 12.9 percent. They also examined the effect after domestic abuse, and found a larger effect of up to 17.9 percent lower earnings, as well as a strongly increased dependence on social benefits.

The total loss of earnings over the first year totalled an astounding 366 million Euros with in just the first year. This will have a major impact on the quality of life of the people affected as they won’t be able to afford many of the products on offer in the market place as prices rise due to inflation. This means that more people will be left uncatered for and be left out from the rest of society.

“Our research helps to further our understanding of the social costs of crime,” says Anna Bindler, Economist at the University of Cologne. The results could be an impetus for thinking about appropriate compensation payments or further assistance for victims of crime, such as labour market programmes.

A number of measures are being put in place to help cover the loss suffered by victims of crime. This includes making offenders pay up to £50 million a year to help victims recover from the trauma that they suffer due to serious crime.

This is on top of the £66 million each year central Government already dedicates to services supporting victims and witnesses.

Added to the loss inflicted on victims of crime, the current Covid 19 pandemic means we all have to try and work from home more often which means people who carry out their duties outside of the home will be losing out. The government is slowly opening up more parts of the economy to allow them to get going and ensure that places outside aren’t too crowded but until then, more people are having to turn to relying on social security benefits such as Universal Credit to help top up any income that they may be receiving.

Cases of the virus in the UK are still on the rise and the country is currently in it’s third period of lockdown. This will hopefully be the last lockdown meaning that society will be able to open fully again once everyone has been fully vaccinated against Covid 19.