Examining public willingness-to-pay for burglary prevention

Abstract

In recent years, government budgets have begun to diminish, causing funding concerns for various services and programs. This is especially true for crime prevention services, which are often seen as superfluous. Therefore, criminologists have devoted considerable attention to evaluating the cost-benefit of crime prevention programs to establish frugal spending practices. One method utilized to examine the cost-benefits of intangible gains is willingness-to-pay (WTP). Utilizing data from a national survey on the public’s WTP for burglary prevention strategies, this study conducted a qualitative analytic analysis of the verbatim responses in support of and against a fictitious burglary prevention program. Findings indicated that 75 per cent of the public has negative attitudes toward paying out-of-pocket for burglary prevention. The primary cause of these negative perceptions were the inability to financially support the program, high taxes, government mistrust and a lack of knowledge of the topic. Each of these areas is explored with policy implications and recommendations for future WTP surveys.