Estimating the cost-savings of reduced crime while on methadone treatment

NDARC Staff

Marian Shanahan, Kate Hetherington and Richard Mattick

Other Investigators

Don Weatherburn (BOCSAR)

Aims

To estimate the cost-savings (cost-offset) of crimes averted through the use of methadone/ buprenorphine maintenance for heroin users in NSW between January 1 1999 and December 31 2000.

Design and Method

Using previously linked data on a group who were enrolled in the NSW methadone treatment program the costs of treatment, and the costs of recorded offences both on and off methadone treatment were estimated. The costs of treatment and costs of crime while on treatment were compared to the cost of crime including gaol while off treatment.

Progress

The sample spent more free time on-methadone (53%) than off-methadone (47%) with a large preponderance of the time spent out of gaol (92%). Despite this, the largest component of costs was gaol, which accounted for 65% of the total while methadone treatment accounted for approximately 25% of the total costs and the costs of crime excluding gaol was about 10% of the total. Additional analyses found that for every day in treatment the cost of crime decreased by more than the cost of treatment suggesting that at a minimum treatment pays for itself.

Benefits

This study provided an estimate in dollars, of one of the benefits of this expanded NSW Pharmacotherapy Program by estimating the cost savings due to decreased crime.

Output

Funding

NSW Health