The Economics of Crime and Capital Punishment Essay

The Economics of Crime and Capital Punishment - Essay Example   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Economics of Crime† The economics of crime is the study of factors that cause crime and the consequences of criminal activities in the society as well as approaches towards the reduction of the criminal effects on the society. Economics of crime deals with the costs of criminal justice programs and policies and their benefits to the society. It also deals with analyzing market progress in regard to all activities associated with a crime like drugs, money laundering, and firearms, among others. Economics of crime still evaluates the effects of criminal activities on other aspects of life like healthcare, education, labor market, and substance abuse. â€Å"Capital Punishment† Capital punishment is a method of executing justice especially to offenders who have committed acute crimes like murder. It was highly practiced in ancient days, but later some people and courts found it unconstitutional and against human rights. There have been issues of debate on whet her it should be abolished or it should continue, and this remains a major issue of concern. Many countries so far have abolished capital punishment for all crimes, though there are others that retain it. However, the practice has not proved to be the best in deterring crimes. People differ on the kind of crimes on which capital punishment should be accorded, and the issue remains unresolved. However, capital punishment has a number of effects on the economy of a country especially with the processes involved in administering justice to offenders, and its cost to the entire society. The Common Economic View The economics of crime and capital punishment go hand in hand in dealing with the economic issues. The economics of crime help in determining the cost a country incurs when administering justice to offenders. For example, the society uses public and private resources to prevent crimes and administer justice to offenders. The economics of crime helps to know the type and amount of resources used to give punishment to offenders. Capital punishment, on the other hand, affects the economy of a country to a greater extent. Administering punishment to an offender goes through a number of processes that involve the use of many resources mainly because of its passing through the different panels to justify the offender’s liability for capital punishment. Thus, it affects the economy widely and should be discouraged. Friedman’s Letter to Bill Bennett The main topic in this article is the use of law enforcement to control drug use in America. This letter is important because it talks about the cost incurred in fighting drug use in America (Friedman 85). Milton urges Bill that the direction they take off using more police, imposing harsh penalties for drug users, increasing jails, among other measures will not help in fighting drug abuse in America, but would rather worsen the current situation. Milton argues that the measures taken are only a source of major evils. Enforcing harsh penalties on drug users only increases disasters for both users and society (Friedman 86).