The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada
IntroductionThis study aimed to quantify the total cost of violent firearm-related offenses in British Columbia in 2016 Canadian dollars over a five-year period, 2012 to 2016. The purposes of this study were to estimate the direct costs to the health care system and indirect costs to society for vio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.938091/full |
| _version_ | 1827940695885742080 |
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| author | Fahra Rajabali Kate Turcotte Alex Zheng Nick Pauls Tony Nguyen Evelyn Kalman Vedrana Covic Ian Pike Ian Pike |
| author_facet | Fahra Rajabali Kate Turcotte Alex Zheng Nick Pauls Tony Nguyen Evelyn Kalman Vedrana Covic Ian Pike Ian Pike |
| author_sort | Fahra Rajabali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThis study aimed to quantify the total cost of violent firearm-related offenses in British Columbia in 2016 Canadian dollars over a five-year period, 2012 to 2016. The purposes of this study were to estimate the direct costs to the health care system and indirect costs to society for violent firearm injuries and deaths; and to estimate criminal justice system costs pertaining to firearm incidents.MethodsHuman and economic costs to the health care system and productivity losses were calculated using health administrative datasets such as B.C. Vital Statistics and Discharge Abstract Database. Criminal justice system costs pertaining to firearm incidents were estimated by applying weighted average costs to aggregate expenditures using methodology consistent with that used by Statistics Canada.ResultsThere was a total of 108 deaths and 245 hospitalizations resulting from violent firearm injuries. The total estimated cost of all violent firearm crime averaged $294,378,985 per year; human costs averaged $188,416,841 per year, where health care costs averaged $3,910,317 per year, productivity losses from workforce and household averaged $17,299,054 and $4,559,470 per year, respectively, and loss of life averaged $162,648,000; and $105,021,145 in criminal justice system costs, and $941,000 in programming costs.ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrates the significant cost of violent firearm injury in British Columbia and the impacts on the health care system, criminal justice system, and to society at large, particularly within the criminal justice system where the costs were significantly higher than health care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:15:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-91904af2be15497ca68f8f013501a17e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:15:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-91904af2be15497ca68f8f013501a17e2023-05-26T10:56:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-01-011010.3389/fpubh.2022.938091938091The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, CanadaFahra Rajabali0Kate Turcotte1Alex Zheng2Nick Pauls3Tony Nguyen4Evelyn Kalman5Vedrana Covic6Ian Pike7Ian Pike8BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, CanadaBC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, CanadaBC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, CanadaPublic Safety and Police Services Unit, Policing and Security Branch, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Victoria, BC, CanadaPublic Safety and Police Services Unit, Policing and Security Branch, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Victoria, BC, CanadaPublic Safety and Police Services Unit, Policing and Security Branch, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Victoria, BC, CanadaPublic Safety and Police Services Unit, Policing and Security Branch, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Victoria, BC, CanadaBC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, CanadaDepartment of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaIntroductionThis study aimed to quantify the total cost of violent firearm-related offenses in British Columbia in 2016 Canadian dollars over a five-year period, 2012 to 2016. The purposes of this study were to estimate the direct costs to the health care system and indirect costs to society for violent firearm injuries and deaths; and to estimate criminal justice system costs pertaining to firearm incidents.MethodsHuman and economic costs to the health care system and productivity losses were calculated using health administrative datasets such as B.C. Vital Statistics and Discharge Abstract Database. Criminal justice system costs pertaining to firearm incidents were estimated by applying weighted average costs to aggregate expenditures using methodology consistent with that used by Statistics Canada.ResultsThere was a total of 108 deaths and 245 hospitalizations resulting from violent firearm injuries. The total estimated cost of all violent firearm crime averaged $294,378,985 per year; human costs averaged $188,416,841 per year, where health care costs averaged $3,910,317 per year, productivity losses from workforce and household averaged $17,299,054 and $4,559,470 per year, respectively, and loss of life averaged $162,648,000; and $105,021,145 in criminal justice system costs, and $941,000 in programming costs.ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrates the significant cost of violent firearm injury in British Columbia and the impacts on the health care system, criminal justice system, and to society at large, particularly within the criminal justice system where the costs were significantly higher than health care.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.938091/fullfirearm injurycostscriminal justice system costshealth care costsviolent crime |
| spellingShingle | Fahra Rajabali Kate Turcotte Alex Zheng Nick Pauls Tony Nguyen Evelyn Kalman Vedrana Covic Ian Pike Ian Pike The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada Frontiers in Public Health firearm injury costs criminal justice system costs health care costs violent crime |
| title | The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_full | The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_fullStr | The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_short | The cost of firearm violent crime in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_sort | cost of firearm violent crime in british columbia canada |
| topic | firearm injury costs criminal justice system costs health care costs violent crime |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.938091/full |
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