What are the consequences of crime?

Crime can result in negative consequences affecting individuals, perpetrators, communities and wider society.

The impact on individuals can be:

• physical - injuries from assaults can be short-term or have long-lasting effect.
• emotional - victims may suffer from fear, anxiety and stress, which could lead to isolation and strained relationships.
• financial - loss of money or property can place a financial burden on families.

The impact on perpetrators can include:

• feelings of guilt and shame
• career set backs and difficulty finding employment
• strained relationships with friends and family
• financial issues resulting from fines, court costs and reduced opportunities

The impact on communities can include:

• fear and safety concerns
• a drop in property value
• higher insurance costs
• business closure
• areas struggling to attract new investments

Businesses are also impacted by crime

• crimes like shoplifting and fraud cost businesses billions
• costs for security and crime prevention can increase
• businesses must either absorb losses or pass costs to consumers as higher prices

Cyber crime is when criminals target businesses online, stealing sensitive information and money.

Taxpayer money is spent on policing, judicial processes, and healthcare costs related to crime.

Watch this video to learn about the impact crime has on society.

When a crime is committed, it can lead to various negative consequences affecting individuals, communities and businesses, and offenders themselves.

For individuals and their families, a crime such as robbery can have a range of negative impacts:

• physical – injury from an assault may have short-term or long-term effects
  • an individual's mobility, senses, cognitive function and ability to carry out day-to-day activities may be affected
• emotional – upset, worry and mental stress can result from experiencing crime
  • individuals may be completely changed by their experience, struggle with daily activities, feel unable to leave their own home, become isolated and struggle to maintain good relationships with their family
• financial – the loss of money, credit cards or the need to pay to replace stolen property, etc. An individual's ability to do work and earn an income may be affected, and there may be additional ongoing costs related to living with physical and emotional injuries.

Crime also has negative effects on the perpetrator (or offender if caught) including:

• loss of freedom if imprisoned
• feelings of shame or guilt
• relationship difficulties with family and friends
• social isolation due to people's judgement
• financial costs such as legal costs
• loss of employment or difficulty finding future employment

Communities which experience higher levels of crime can be adversely affected:

• people feel frightened inside or outside their own home
• property prices are affected
• home owners can find it more difficult to sell their property
• home insurance premiums increase due to higher risk of claims being made
• existing businesses may close down due to crime such as repeated theft, vandalism or loss of customers
• new businesses may avoid opening in an area with high crime rates

Crimes such as shoplifting and fraud cost businesses in the UK billions of pounds each year.

Businesses either have to deal with these costs themselves, reducing their profits, or pass costs on to shoppers and service users in the form of higher prices.

One report from the Scottish Retail Consortium and Scottish Grocers Federation, found that in 2021-22, shoplifting cost £90 million in Scotland alone.

These business groups also reported that organised crime was behind some of the 28,619 shoplifting crimes of that year, with gangs targeting whole towns then moving on.

Increasingly, criminals and criminal gangs are using the internet and information technology to commit crime.

There are many types of cyber-crime, some target individuals, some target businesses and other organisations.

Cyber-crime can involve:

• stealing confidential information, such as personal data, for example names, addresses, bank details or even health information. This data can be used to commit fraud.
• threatening to publish personal information unless money is paid. For example, sextortion is growing form of blackmail in which criminals threaten to publish sexual pictures, videos or information.
• using scam emails, texts and websites to commit fraud
• using social media to threaten and harass

Some criminal gangs target businesses and other organisations. If they gain access to confidential data, they can threaten to publish or sell this data unless the organisation involved pays a ransom, as happened to NHS Dumfries and Galloway in 2024.

Gangs can also use ransomware to prevent devices working, or stop companies from accessing the data they need. If an organisation pays the ransom, there is no guarantee that the criminals will return stolen data, or allow a service to work again.

Cyber-crime can target businesses and other organisations by:

• stealing confidential information, such as the personal data of customers, for example names, addresses, bank details or even health information. This data can be used to commit fraud.

• threatening to publish or sell confidential data unless the organisation involved pays a ransom, as happened to NHS Dumfries and Galloway in 2024.

• using ransomware to prevent devices working, or stop companies from accessing the data they need. If an organisation pays the ransom, there is no guarantee that the criminals will return stolen data, or allow a service to work again.

All of these actions can have a significant impact on organisations:

• loss of earnings while services are disrupted
• costs of paying ransom
• costs of replacing stolen funds
• potential fines where company has been found to have been at fault if personal data stolen
• damage to the organisation's reputation, which can include loss of customers

All crime comes at a cost to wider society.

Taxpayers must pay for all aspects of the criminal justice service:

• police who investigate and try and prevent crime
• courts to prosecute offenders
• prison service to house prisoners
• criminal justice social workers to supervise offenders with alternative sentences
• probation service to supervise rehabilitation and the return of offenders to the community.

Crime can result in other costs that are passed on to tax payers:

• costs for the health service from medical care required by victims of violent crime
• costs to the fire services for dealing with deliberate fire raising
• cost of some criminal injuries payments
• cost of damage to public property or property belonging to public organisations
• costs of benefits, care or other resources needed by victims of crime

In the 2022-23, the Scottish Government allocated just under £4 billion for public order and safety, which was 3.6% of Scottish Government expenditure.

Consequences of crime for individuals can include:

• physical – injury directly from an assault. This may be short-term or long-term
• emotional – upset, worry or mental stress resulting from experiencing crime.
• financial – the loss of money, credit card or the need to pay for a replacement mobile, etc.

Consequences of crime for perpetrators can include:

• feelings of shame or guilt
• loss of employment or difficulty finding future employment
• relationship difficulties with family and friends.

Consequences of crime for communities can include:

• people feel frightened inside or outside their own home
• property prices are affected
• homeowners can find it more difficult to sell their property
• home insurance premiums increase due to higher risk of claims being made
• new businesses may avoid the area
• existing businesses may close down due to crime such as repeated theft, vandalism or having too few customers.

Crimes such as shoplifting and fraud cost businesses in the UK billions of pounds each year.

Cyber-crime is a growing threat for both individuals and businesses. It can have similar impacts on individuals as other types of crime.

Cyber-crime can affect businesses through:

• costs for replacing stolen money
• increased security costs
• loss of business if services are disrupted
• fines and loss of reputation from security failures

Crime results in costs for taxpayers. Money from taxes is spent on policing, court proceedings, and healthcare costs related to crime.

In Scotland, nearly £4 billion was allocated in 2022-23 for public order and safety.