This 1985 report on justice expenditure and employment, the first such report since 1979, includes long-term trends in justice expenditures and employment.
Overall, justice spending has increased by 75 percent since 1979, a lower rate of growth than spending for all government services, which rose 90 percent. State and local governments, however, which have primary responsibility for justice activities, increased their justice spending at a slightly higher rate than spending for all functions, 76 percent versus 72 percent respectively. In fiscal 1985, the proportion of total government spending used for justice activities was 2.9 percent. Of every government dollar spend in the Nation, 1.4 cents went for police protection; 0.8 cents was for correctional programs such as jails, prisons, probation, and parole; and 0.6 cents went for judicial and legal services. State governments spent 3 percent of their total spending on corrections. Overall, Federal, State, and local governments spent twice as much on housing and the environment as they spent for criminal and civil justice, twice as much on public welfare, and more than four times as much on education. 12 tables and 5 suggested readings