Where did the money go?

 

Since the early 1970s, starting with the Nixon administration, there has been a conservative, Aget tough@ trend toward crime in the United States.  This trend became increasingly harsh as we entered the 1980s and the Reagan years, but it continued unabated during the 1990s throughout the Clinton administration.  There has been no let up.  We have been studying and writing about this trend recently and in our new book about crime and criminal justice we uncovered some interesting facts that citizens ought to be aware of.  Not that facts really matter when it comes to public policy, which is too often based upon emotions, rhetoric and blind faith.

In the year 2000, a total of 11,605,751 index crimes were reported to the police.  The crime rate (per 100,000 population) stood at 4,124.  Looking at crime rates over the past thirty years we see that the current crime rate is nearly identical to the crime rate in 1971 where there were 8,588,200 index crimes known to the police, but the crime rate was 4,165.  Statistically speaking, there was no change, although there have been some ups and downs during the past 30 years, as there always are when it comes to crime figures.  And individual cities and states may vary a great deal. But over the entire country, despite all that the Aget tough@ rhetoric, we are right back to where it all began, 30 years ago.

However, it would be incorrect to say we are exactly at the same place we were in 1971, for there have been some significant changes with regard to our response to crime. First, since 1971 there has been a 1,264 percent increase in criminal justice expenditures, going from around $11 billion per year in 1971 to around $150 billion per year in 2000.   Second, the prison population has gone from a mere 198,000 (with an imprisonment rate of around 100) in 1971 to about 1.3 million in the year 2000 (with an imprisonment rate of about 464), representing an 800 percent increase in the number of prisoners, and a almost 500 percent increase in the overall incarceration rate).  Third,  property crime rates have decreased about 4 percent since 1971 (from 3,768 in 1971 to 3,618 in 2000).  Among the more specific property crimes, the burglary rate decreased by about 37 percent, while the motor vehicle theft rate experienced more modest decline of 9 percent, and the larceny-theft rate increased about 13 percent during the same period  

Comparing total violent crime rates for the same period reveals a different picture.  The total violent crime rate for 1971 was 396 per 100,000 compared to 506 per 100,000 in 2000.  This represents an increase of almost 22 percent. Murder and robbery rates declined 36 percent and 23 percent, respectively.  On the other hand, rape and aggravated assault rates rose by 36 percent and 45 percent respectively.

So what have citizens received for all the money spent - which, by the way, comes to well over a trillion dollars if we add all the years up?  Not much.  The main beneficiaries of these expenditures have been those associated with what should be termed the ACriminal Justice Industrial Complex@ (which has grown alongside the Military Industrial Complex), namely, police agencies, courts and the entire prison industry, from small town jails to huge maximum security prisons.  Employment prospects within this vast system have been among the fastest rising among all other industries, with Acorrectional officers@ leading the way among specific occupational groups.