Nationally, the cost of policing is a staggering
Prioritize investments in social services, housing, health, and treatment. Reduce excessive spending on police, jails, and prisons and reallocate resources to community-based programs that uplift, rather than tear down, communities.
In the United States, more than $295 billion is spent annually to fund the police, courts, jails, prisons, probation, and parole. Yet that staggering investment does not correlate with public safety. Spending on the state, local, and federal criminal legal systems continues to rise despite an overall decline in arrests, historically low crime rates, and fewer people incarcerated compared to a decade ago. When more money is spent on police, jails, and prisons, less is allocated for basic community resources and services such as housing, medical care, mental health treatment, and social services. It is time to rethink our approach to public safety, divest from excessive funding of the criminal legal system, and invest in the services that help communities truly thrive.
Explore our budget justice related resources below.
From the Blog
What do local jails really cost?
How much does it cost to house the 730,000 men and women in America’s jails? Seems like a simple enough question to answer, but the fact is, no one really knows. The U.S. government estimates $22.2 billion per year, but—as we found in our latest report, The Price of Jails: Measuring the Taxpayer Cost of Local Incarceration—this amount excludes corr ...
News
-
Christian Henrichson
New report examines each state’s correctional health care spending
Nationwide, state correctional health care spending totaled $7.7 billion in 2011—an amount that comprises 20 percent of overall prison expenditures, according to a new report from the State Health Care Spending Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Inmate health care costs make up ...
News
-
Christian Henrichson
Divesting from Policing and Investing in New Orleans Youth
Imagine if some of the money spent on policing was instead invested in New Orleans youth, their families, and their neighborhoods. Youth are supposed to be our future, so ensuring their healthy development into thriving, educated, and engaged New Orleanians should be our priority. A native New Orleanian, I went to Benjamin Franklin High School, whe ...
News
-
Sarah Omojola
The costs and benefits of incarcerating low-level drug offenders
This post originally appeared on the blog of the Cost-Benefit Knowledge Bank for Criminal Justice (CBKB), a Vera project. When U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. spoke to the American Bar Association recently about a range of criminal justice issues, it was his announcement of a change in policies for charging low-level drug offenders that ma ...
News
-
Christian Henrichson
More from Election 2020
Neil Nakahodo, The Kansas City Star
Series: Election 2020
COVID-19
Public health is a criminal justice issue
Series: Election 2020
Postsecondary Education in Prison
Postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated people
Luke Sharrett | The New York Times | Redux
Series: Election 2020
Policing
Systemic reform of American policing
Photo by Martin Jernberg | Unsplash
Series: Election 2020
Due Process for Immigrants
No one should be denied due process
Series: Election 2020
Rural Jails
Eliminating rural jail funding; investing in communities
Series: Election 2020
Money Injustice
Photo by Tyler Rutherford | Unsplash
Series: Election 2020
Conditions of Confinement
Transforming prison culture and climate
Series: Election 2020
Prosecution
Electing reform-minded prosecutors
Series: Election 2020
Target 2020
Justice Solutions for a New Decade
Series: Election 2020
Justice Is on the Ballot
Commit to vote. Make a plan to vote. Register to vote.
Series: Election 2020
Vera's 2020 Justice Platform
Justice Recommendations for Progress