An Economic Analysis of Crime Costs Associated with Psychopathic Personality Disorder and Violence Risk. (May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gatner, Dylan T.; Douglas, Kevin S.; Almond, Madison F. E.; Hart, Stephen D.; Kropp, P. Randall
• Is Part Of: Criminal justice and behavior. Volume 50:Number 5(2023)
• Page Start: 729
• Page End: 746
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Subjects: psychopathy -- cost of illness -- crime costs -- violence -- risk assessment; Correctional psychology -- Periodicals; 364.6
• DOI: 10.1177/00938548221140366
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0093-8548

Abstract

Given substantial national crime costs and that psychopathic personality disorder (PPD) is a robust predictor of recidivism, a research gap exists concerning the cost of crime attributable to adults with PPD. The current study employed a bottom-up cost of illness approach to estimate the association between PPD and crime costs among Canadian men incarcerated in the federal correctional system ( n = 188). Participants were rated using the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) and the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management–20 (HCR-20, version 2). Group mean crime costs were highest for participants who scored highly on the PCL-R and were rated high risk on the HCR-20, and higher scores on both measures were associated with prospective costs accrued from violent and nonviolent recidivism. The findings highlight the need to improve the treatment and management of high-risk individuals with prominent psychopathic features, as it has the potential for significant financial savings for criminal justice systems.