NCJ Number
154528
Journal
Intergovernmental Perspective Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1993) Pages: 7-13
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The responsibility and the authority to address many criminal justice and crime prevention issues rest with elected government officials at all levels, and rational public policy change depends on building consensus based on good information.
Abstract
Various government levels in the United States spend over $70 billion a year on criminal justice. Since the mid-1970's, criminal justice expenditures have risen faster than any other area of State and local government spending. The responsibility for criminal justice rests primarily with State and local officials. State and local criminal justice systems prosecute 94 percent of all serious crimes, county jails hold the most persons detained on State or Federal felony charges, State prisons hold 92 percent of the total prison population, and State and local governments spend 87.4 percent of all criminal justice funds. The criminal justice system's effectiveness is assessed in relation to expenditures and crime prevention. The need to reduce criminal justice system costs by community-based corrections and court- related funding is emphasized. Ways of improving the system through public policy change are identified that focus on dealing with fear of crime, fostering cooperation within disparate criminal justice systems whose structure reflects a historic fear of arbitrary authority, and obtaining good information. Information technology is viewed as a way of facilitating analytical processes that support criminal justice decisionmaking. 5 figures