I mentioned the legal cost separately because the largest and primary cost comes from the crimes themselves: the damage a criminal does directly (stolen goods, destroyed property, injured people) and indirectly (lowered trust in society, trauma).<p>Can a criminal lead to more than $30k (low end) or $100k (higher end) damage in a year? Easily. That&#x27;s one drunk driver causing a single accident where someone gets hurt.<p>Wile it&#x27;s partially because legal, incarceration, and healthcare costs are bordering on obscene in the US, I&#x27;d bet (moral issues aside) that it&#x27;s still a good trade-off to keep people prone to crime in prison.