Government Spending for Law Enforcement Up 75% in 6 Years
- Share via
WASHINGTON — Government spending for law enforcement increased by 75% from 1979 to 1985 to $45.6 billion, while spending for all government services rose 90% in that time, according to a federal study issued Sunday.
In addition, the study by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that just 2.9% of total government spending financed law enforcement activities in 1985.
More than 20% of all government spending went for social programs, while more than 18% paid for defense and international relations. Thirteen percent went for education and nearly 11% was spent on interest to pay the public debt.
$13 Billion for Prisons
The nation spent $22 billion on police protection in 1985 and about $13 billion to build prisons and jails and to operate probation programs, the report said. Another $10 billion financed courts, prosecutors, legal services and public defenders.
From 1979 to 1985, federal spending for enforcement of civil and criminal laws rose 68% to $5.8 billion, while all federal spending rose 92%, the study found.
State and local governments increased their spending for justice activities 76% during the period, while all state and local spending rose 72%.
Total government spending in 1985 was more than $1.5 trillion.
For each government dollar spent in the nation, 1.4 cents went to police protection, 0.8 of a cent was for correctional programs and 0.6 of a cent went for judicial and legal services.
Justice Activities
Local governments made more than half of the nation’s expenditures for justice activities--$25.3 billion. State governments spent nearly $15 billion and the federal government spent less than $6 billion.
States spent about half of their money on building and maintaining prisons, while local governments spent about two-thirds of their money on police protection.
In October, 1985, the nation’s civil and criminal justice systems employed more than 1.4 million people.
Federal, state and local governments spent $191 for each U.S. resident on justice activities in 1985, including $92 for police protection and $55 for corrections.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.