[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
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Table 27-1. FEDERAL RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 750 1996 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Actual 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.