Correctional intervention programs and cost-benefit analysis

A program is economically efficient if its monetary benefits outweigh its m onetary costs. Discussions of the economic efficiency of correctional inter vention and other crime and offender prevention programs can be very persua sive and have gained wide appeal in political, policy, and academic setting s. However, little is known about the economic efficiency of crime preventi on strategies. This article examines the contribution, both methodological and empirical, of cost-benefit analyses of correctional intervention progra ms designed to reduce reoffending in the community. A review of the literat ure revealed only seven published studies that have presented information o n monetary costs and benefits. Future cost-benefit research on correctional intervention should be concerned with standardizing the measurement of cos ts 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.