    [Budget of the U.S. Government]
    [VI. Investing in the Common Good: The Major Functions of the Federal Government]
    [27. Administration of Justice]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                         27.  ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

      ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Table 27-1.  FEDERAL RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
                                                (In millions of dollars)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Estimate
                Function 750                1996   -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Actual      1997       1998       1999       2000       2001       2002
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Spending:
      Discretionary Budget Authority...     20,684     22,819     24,415     25,186     24,382     24,806     25,518
      Mandatory Outlays:
        Existing law...................        -36        767        566        539        400        404        400
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      Federal, State, and local governments share the responsibility for
    fighting crime. Most of the effort occurs at the State and local level.
    The Federal Government primarily addresses criminal acts that require a
    national response, and supports State and local law enforcement and
    criminal justice activities.
      Federal, State, and local resources devoted to the administration of
    justice--including law enforcement, litigation, judicial, and
    correctional--have grown from $68.3 billion in 1988 to an estimated
    $139.4 billion in 1997--by 104 percent or, as Chart 27-1 illustrates, by
    53 percent in constant 1988 dollars. During this same period, the
    Federal law enforcement component, including transfer payments to State
    and local law enforcement activities, grew by 151 percent, from $9.5
    billion in 1988 to $23.9 billion in 1997. Despite this growth, Federal
    resources account for only about 17 percent of total governmental
    spending for administration of justice.

      Nevertheless, Federal resources devoted to law enforcement and crime
    prevention are consuming a larger slice of total Federal discretionary
    spending. In 1988, administration of justice expenditures were about two
    percent of Federal discretionary spending. In 1997, they will consume
    nearly five percent.

    Federal Activities

       Federal funding for the Administration of Justice function includes:
    (1) Federal law enforcement activities; (2) litigation and judicial
    activities; (3) correctional activities; and (4) financial assistance to
    State and local entities. Most of these funds go to the Departments of
    Justice and the Treasury, and to the Judiciary (see Chart 27-2).

      Law Enforcement: The budget proposes $24.9 billion in 1998 to enforce
    a wide range of laws, reflecting the unique Federal role in law
    enforcement. Some responsibilities--such as customs enforcement--date
    from the beginning of the country. The Justice Department's Federal
    Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),
    and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) enforce diverse Federal
    laws dealing with terrorism, white collar crime, border control, drug
    smuggling, and many other criminal acts. The Treasury Department
    enforces laws related to smuggling drugs and contraband across our
    borders, and to regulating trade, telecommunications, financial
    institutions, and the alcohol, tobacco, and firearms industries.
    Treasury also trains Federal law enforcement agency personnel and
    protects the President, the Vice President, and foreign dignitaries.
    These Federal agencies, and the ones discussed below, also work with
    State and local law enforcement agencies, often through joint task
    forces to address drug, gang, and other violent crime problems, as well
    as civil rights laws.
      The Federal responsibility to enforce civil rights laws in the areas
    of employment

    [[Page 204]]

    and housing arises from Title VII and Title VIII of the
    Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and is further augmented by more
    recent civil rights legislation, including the Age Discrimination in
    Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Department
    of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and
    Equal Opportunity enforces laws that prohibit discrimination on the
    basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, familial status, or
    national origin in the sale or rental, provision of brokerage services,
    or financing of housing. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
    enforces laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of
    race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, and national origin.

      Litigation and Judicial Activities: Of course, after such law
    enforcement agencies as the FBI, DEA, and Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol,
    Tobacco and Firearms have investigated and apprehended perpetrators of
    Federal crimes, the United States must prosecute them--and the budget
    proposes $6.7 billion for this purpose. This task falls to the 93 United
    States Attorneys and the 4,450 Assistant United States Attorneys. Along
    with prosecuting cases referred by Federal law enforcement agencies, the
    U.S. Attorneys work with State and local police and prosecutors in their
    efforts to bring to justice those who have violated Federal laws--
    whether international drug traffickers, organized crime ringleaders, or
    perpetrators of white collar fraud.
      In addition, the Justice Department contains several legal divisions
    specializing in specific areas of criminal and civil law. These
    divisions--including the Civil, Criminal, Civil Rights, Environment and
    Natural Resources, Tax, and Antitrust Divisions--work with the U.S.
    Attorneys to ensure that violators of a myriad assortment of Federal
    laws are brought to justice. Individuals and corporations who would
    knowingly and illegally pollute a local river, evade Federal income
    taxes, or conspire to fix consumer prices are all targets of Federal
    prosecutors. The

    [[Page 205]]

    Federal Government, through the Legal Services Corporation, also promotes equal access to the Nation's legal system by funding local organizations that provide legal assistance to the poor in civil cases.
      As for the Federal Judiciary, its rapid growth is a result of
    increased Federal law enforcement efforts over the recent past.
    Accounting for 14 percent of total law enforcement spending, the
    Judiciary comprises the Supreme Court and 196 courts of appeals,
    bankruptcy courts, and district courts, and is overseen by 2,102 Federal
    and Supreme Court judges.

      Corrections Activities: The budget proposes $3.2 billion for
    corrections activities. Due to higher spending on law enforcement and
    other factors, the number of criminals incarcerated also has risen. The
    U.S. inmate population has doubled since 1988, with the total number of
    sentenced inmates exceeding a million during 1996. The Federal inmate
    population--slightly less than a tenth of the State inmate population--
    will continue to grow due to the abolition of parole, minimum mandatory
    sentences, and sentencing guidelines. State inmate populations will
    grow, in part, due to stringent sentencing requirements tied to Federal
    prison grant funds. In the Federal system, about 61 percent of the
    inmates serving time have been convicted on drug-related charges.
      Criminal Justice Assistance: The 1994 Crime Act fueled the rapid post-
    1994 growth in Federal criminal justice assistance to State and local
    governments, which has increased from $800 million in 1994 to a proposed
    $4.4 billion in 1998. The Act authorized such programs as the Community
    Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, prison grants, and the State
    Criminal Alien Assistance Program. Most funding authorized under the Act
    supports grants to States and localities--designed to help States and
    local criminal justice systems perform their roles as the primary agents
    of law enforcement.

    [[Page 206]]

    The Results--and Long-term Trends

      The Justice Department's national crime statistics show that criminal
    offenses reported by law enforcement agencies fell by three percent from
    1995 to 1996--marking the fifth straight year the crime rate has
    dropped. The decrease in crime, when compared with increases in anti-
    crime spending during the same period, appears to suggest a general
    relationship. Many factors unrelated to Federal spending, however, also
    probably played an important role in the drop in crime.