I believe the estimate is low but public and private cost of criminal activity nationally is estimated to be about $1.5 TRILLION/yr while the criminal class - those who perpetrate most of the crime - is no more than 2% of the gen pop. Add in their lack of productivity - our criminal class rarely works, produces or pays taxes - and the figure approaches $2 trillion/yr, or over 10% of our GDP. It isn't society that fails these human parasites as some claim but rather they who fail us and themselves. Imagine how much better life in America would be without them.