The Cost of Inaction in Criminal Justice Reforms

Data-Driven Criminal Justice Reforms The Cost of Doing Nothing Michal Gilad

The Value of Research to Policy Understanding the unique needs and characteristics of target populations Uncovering the long-term outcomes of policy decisions

What Can We Learn From Science? Children are not miniature adults Children are more vulnerable to the effect of violent crime Violence is a learned behavior The most predictive risk factor for violence is untreated childhood exposure Early intervention alleviates the risk

Prevalence A National Crisis % of Exposure in U.S. Population Under 18 Direct Victimizatio n 52.3 56.1 48.3 Family Violence Community Violence Parental Incarceration Parental Victimization Any 1 Exposure Total 22.9 21.9 24.0 34.9 36.8 32.8 4.8 5.2 4.4 No Data No Data No Data 64.1 66.5 61.6 Male Female The Vast Majority of exposed individuals remain untreated

Outcomes Cancer Delinquency Criminal Behavior Substance Use Disorder Re-victimization COPD Asthma PTSD Heart Attack Depression Skeletal Fractures Anxiety Diabetes Suicide Attempts STDs Poor Educational Outcomes Poor Employment Outcomes

The Cost of Doing Nothing Table 10: Total Cost by Outcome Category Outcome Total Lifetime Cost Average Total Annual Cost Per-person Total Annual Costs for All Affected Adults in the U.S. Per-Person $7,720 (6,159, 9,364) $12,931 (7,529, 18,426) $7,704 (4,628, 10,122) $3,837 (1,541, 7,537) $162,231 $194,413 (182,088, 207,680) $131 (105, 159) $220 (128, 313) $131 (79,172) $65 (26, 128) $2,754 $3,301 (3,091, 3,526) $19,713,327,765 (15,727,339,289, 23,911,075,157) $33,019,906,500 (19,225,162,171, 47,051,877,699) $19,671,359,196 (11,817,177,879, 25,846,233,753) $9,772,156,101 (3,935,294,353, 19,246,115,222) $414,261,170,011 $496,437,919,573 (464,966,143,702, 530,316,471,841) Criminal Justice Substance Use Mental Health Physical Health Productivity Total

Policy Implications Gauging the size of the problem Designing cost effective solutions Maximizing limited resources Incentive for policymakers Potential source for significant savings Evidence-based support for the economic feasibility of early identification, referral and intervention.

Eyes to the Future More nationally representative data Collecting updated post-covid data Assuring that research findings are accessible

For more information or collaboration Michal Gilad: gmichal@pennlaw.upenn.edu

The Cost of the Status Quo How much does it cost us to do nothing? Prevalence how many individuals affected? Outcomes what are the long term consequences of doing nothing Attributable risk specific increase in risk for outcome to occur after controlling for competing causes Cost the monetary cost of each expected outcome

Root Causes Policies not specifically designed for Children Access barriers No identification No effective referral to trauma treatment Over-reliance on parental initiative Poor public information Lack of coordination between stakeholders

Number of State Victim Compensation Claims (2015): State Category VC Claims in 2015 35 Exposure to Family Crime Arizona California Iowa 35 Exposure to Community Crime 21 Exposure to Family Crime 0 Exposure to Family Crime 0 Kentucky Exposure to Community Crime Parental Victimization 0 0 Exposure to Family Crime Maine 15 Exposure to Family Crime Montana 0 Exposure to Community Crime 1 Exposure to Family Crime Nebraska 0 Exposure to Community Crime 0 Exposure to Family Crime Nevada Virginia West Virginia 0 Exposure to Family Crime 0 Exposure to Community Crime

Risk Factors Gender Exposure to violence Victimization At home At school Neighborhood Media Social rejection Impulsive personality traits Substance use Economic disadvantage Delinquent peers Marginalization Low community participation Low parental involvement Poor social and communication skills Mental health Normalization Academic disengagement