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Justice Expenditures and Employment, 1982-2007: Statistical Tables

NCJ Number
236218
Author(s)
Tracey Kyckelhahn Ph.D.
Date Published
December 2011
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This statistical report presents data on justice expenditures and employment in 5-year increments from 1982 to 2007.
Abstract

Presents data on justice expenditures and employment in 5-year increments from 1982 to 2007. Data tables show federal, state, and local government expenditures and employment for corrections, police protection, and judicial and legal services. Tables include data on total justice expenditures and employment by year and percentage change over time. Tables provide expenditure and employee percentage distributions by level of government and justice function. Per capita expenditures and employment rates by type of justice function are also provided, but individual agencies or jurisdiction-level data are not included. Data are from the Census Bureau's Annual Government Finance Survey and Annual Survey of Public Employment, presented under the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts (JEE) series.

  • During 2007, the cost of the nation's police protection, corrections, and judicial and legal services was $228 billion, an increase of 171% since 1982, after adjusting for inflation. Between 2002 and 2007, public expenditures for criminal and civil justice remained flat.
  • Per capita justice expenditures totaled $755 per U.S. resident in 2007, a decline of 5% from the inflation adjusted 2002 peak of $791 per resident.
  • In 2007, a total of 2.5 million persons were employed in the nation's justice system, an increase of 93% from 1982, when 1.3 million persons were employed.
  • The justice employment rate increased from 5.5 employees per 1,000 U.S. residents in 1982 to 8.1 in 2001. This rate held steady between 2002 and 2007.