The Fraser Institute

The
Economic Freedom
Network

The Crime Bill: Who Pays and How Much?

by Paul Brantingham and Stephen T. Easton

Contents

Preface

Michael Walker, Executive Director,
The Fraser Institute

There is a wide difference of opinion about the functions that should be performed by the government sector. The Fraser Institute's research leads it to suggest that the economic and social well being of countries is more likely to be enhanced if the functions performed in the non-competitive, politically controlled sector are limited. Others take the view that government must be active in many areas, and indeed that the scope of government activities must be enhanced.

A common ground between these two positions is the agreement that government must have the primary responsibility for the maintenance of a framework of law and in the control of crime. This agreement amongst those who have different perspectives about the role of government has generally meant that the activities of the government in the two areas of law and crime control have not been subject to the scrutiny that has been accorded other areas about which there has not been agreement. The Institute's "Law and Markets" program is designed to subject the law and order functions of government to closer inspection.

In this Critical Issues Bulletin, Professors Brantingham and Easton provide the first readily available survey of crime and its attributes. In it, we discover the enormous costs which criminal activity impose on the population. We see who are the victims and perpetrators of crime, and what sorts of crime are most prevalent. And we also find out how the incidence of crime in Canada compares to other countries.

One of the most interesting trends identified in the study is the emergence of private policing. An earlier study of The Fraser Institute had examined private security firms as an aspect of the growth of the service sector of the Canadian economy. In this bulletin, we discover that private security police outnumber public sector police two to one, and we find out why there has been this explosion of the private police force.

The Fraser Institute has been pleased to support this compilation of research on the attributes of crime in Canada. However, the authors have worked independently and the views they express may or may not represent the views of the members or trustees of the Institute.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.