The study found that criminal justice is a growing fiscal problem for municipal, county, State, and Federal governments, costing over $70 billion a year. Spending on criminal justice has been driven more by increases in prosecution and prison sentencing than by increases in reported crime and arrests. The study also concludes that police officers, courts, and corrections officials cannot, by themselves, reduce crime significantly. Further, rapid growth in the criminal justice system has significantly affected the responsibilities, workloads, and financial demands on different parts of the system, creating more intergovernmental tensions. Based on study findings, the report recommends that State legislatures and the U.S. Congress re-examine their criminal justice systems to rectify imbalances among law enforcement, adjudication, and corrections capabilities. Also, the chief elected officials of general government should insist on being informed about the basic characteristics, interrelationships, and current facts of the criminal justice system. They should also hold criminal justice officials accountable for supporting improved system performance by using budget leverage. Elected officials should support the development and use of decision-support and management information systems, the development of performance indicators for key activities, and the collection of the required data for forecasting personnel and facilities needs; analyzing the budgetary impacts of mandates; and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of crime investigations, court case management, and correctional classification and supervision. Finally, State and local elected officials should establish and participate in criminal justice coordinating bodies and support such bodies. Extensive tables and figures on study findings are provided.