Other studies have noted similar indirect costs. Louis estimates that the broader societal costs put the total burden at nearly $1.2 trillion, after accounting for consequences such as foregone wages, adverse health effects, and the detrimental effects on the children of incarcerated parents, as detailed below. The cost of the criminal justice system extends far beyond those direct costs of policing, prosecuting, and incarcerating.Ī study from Washington University in St. Based on this estimate, the cost to the 2.2 million currently incarcerated individuals and their families would total $29.9 billion. A 2015 report found that the average court costs for someone arrested was $13,607. Of course, these figures do not include the costs to individuals cited, arrested, and detained, or to their families. States spend the most on corrections, a reflection of the fact that nearly 60 percent of all detainees (1.3 million people) are held in state prisons. ![]() As shown in the following chart, local governments pay more than half of the total costs-mostly for policing, while the federal government pays just one-sixth. The remainder-$64.7 billion-is spent on the judicial and legal systems. The next largest share of this expense-$88.5 billion-is the cost of operating the nation’s prisons, jails, and parole and probation systems. Roughly half of these funds-$142.5 billion-are dedicated to police protection. With more than 2.2 million people incarcerated, this sum amounts to nearly $134,400 per person detained. The direct governmental cost of our corrections and criminal justice system was $295.6 billion in 2016, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. But the value of these attributes is subjective and will differ from individual to individual based on a personal evaluation of safety, life, and property. A well-functioning criminal justice system may exhibit low or falling crime rates, low recidivism rates, and the ability to move on with one’s life after a person’s sentence has been served or debt paid, as well as the ability of victims to be compensated for the wrongs committed against them. In contrast, the benefits are harder to calculate. As detailed below, the costs are substantial. Costs are measured in terms of the direct costs (budget outlays) as well as indirect costs (the social and economic consequences of the punishments imposed, arresting and imprisoning the wrong person, unnecessary injuries and fatalities sustained during arrest and imprisonment, etc.). This paper analyzes the significant costs of the U.S. The extent to which the benefits outweigh the costs are a reflection of the system’s efficiency. ![]() The resources employed to achieve those outcomes, as well as any errors and collateral damage caused in the pursuit of justice, are the costs. To the extent these goals are achieved, such outcomes are the benefits of a robust criminal justice system and an indication of its effectiveness. Further, victims of crimes should be compensated for their sufferings and made whole, insofar as it is possible. A fair and just system must provide due process, protect the rights of the innocent, and provide those protections equally to all people. Key elements of such a system include incapacitating people who have broken the law, deterring others from doing the same, and rehabilitating offenders to prevent reoccurrence. The value citizens place on the small increases in deterrence is difficult to quantify, but as a matter of logic it must be substantial to merit incurring the measured costs.Ī criminal justice system is vital to ensuring laws are obeyed, the public is safe, and rights are protected.The outcomes of this expense are only a marginal reduction in crime, reduced earnings for the convicted, and a high likelihood of formerly incarcerated individuals returning to prison. ![]() The societal costs of incarceration-lost earnings, adverse health effects, and the damage to the families of the incarcerated-are estimated at up to three times the direct costs, bringing the total burden of our criminal justice system to $1.2 trillion.The United States spends nearly $300 billion annually to police communities and incarcerate 2.2 million people.
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