Expenditures - Local Jail Expenditures By Countiesand Municipalities

According to Justice Expenditure and Employment in the United States, 2001 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004), governments on the local level carry the bulk of justice system costs because police protection is primarily the responsibility of local communities. Some 59% of all justice system employees (1,357,153) are employed at the local level. (See Table 2.10.) In 2001, $50.7 billion, some 70% of all funds spent on police protection, came from county or municipal governments. (See Table 2.2.)

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2003 (May 2004) that between 1995 and 2003, the number of inmates in local jails rose from 507,044 to 691,301. (See Table 2.11.) The average annual increase in jail inmates from December 31, 1995, to June 30, 2003, was 4%. However, at the end of June 2003, local jails were operating at 6% below their rated capacity. Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2003 also reported that local authorities supervised an additional 71,371 offenders in such alternative programs as work release, weekend reporting, electronic monitoring, and community service.

TABLE 2.4
Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, yearend 1995, 2002, and 2003
SOURCE: Paige M. Harrison and Allen J. Beck, "Table 4. Sentenced Prisoners under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal Correctional Authorities, Yearend 1995, 2002, and 2003," in Prisoners in 2003, Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2004, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p03.pdf (accessed March 30, 2005)

Region and jurisdiction	Sentenced prisoners			Percent change 2002–03	Average change 1995–03a	Incarceration rate 2003b
	2003	2002	1995
U.S. total	1,409,280	1,380,516	1,085,022	2.1%	3.3%	482
Federal	151,919	143,040	83,663	6.2	7.7	52
State	1,257,361	1,237,476	1,001,359	1.6	2.9	430
Northeast	163,494	165,783	155,030	1.4%	0.7%	300
Connecticut	13,587	14,082	10,419	3.5	3.4	389
Maine	1,951	1,817	1,326	7.4	4.9	149
Massachusettsc	8,814	8,947	10,427	1.5	2.1	233
New Hampshire	2,434	2,451	2,015	0.7	2.4	188
New Jerseyd	27,246	27,891	27,066	2.3	0.1	314
New York	65,198	67,065	68,486	2.8	0.6	339
Pennsylvania	40,880	40,164	32,410	1.8	2.9	330
Rhode Island	1,983	2,045	1,833	3.0	1.0	184
Vermont	1,401	1,321	1,048	6.1	3.7	226
Midwest	246,053	244,566	192,177	0.6%	3.1%	375
IIIinoisd	43,418	42,693	37,658	1.7	1.8	342
Indiana	23,007	21,542	16,046	6.8	4.6	370
lowad	8,546	8,398	5,906	1.8	4.7	290
Kansasd	9,132	8,935	7,054	2.2	3.3	334
Michigan	49,358	50,591	41,112	2.4	2.3	489
Minnesota	7,865	7,129	4,846	10.3	6.2	155
Missouri	30,275	30,080	19,134	0.6	5.9	529
Nebraska	3,976	3,972	3,006	0.1	3.6	228
North Dakota	1,147	1,025	544	11.9	9.8	181
Ohiod	44,778	45,646	44,663	1.9	0.0	391
South Dakota	3,016	2,911	1,871	3.6	6.1	393
Wisconsin	21,535	21,644	10,337	0.5	e	392
South	566,679	553,493	446,491	2.6%	3.0%	542
Alabama	28,612	27,532	20,130	3.9	4.5	635
Arkansas	13,013	12,999	8,520	0.1	5.4	476
Delaware	4,122	3,659	3,014	12.7	4.0	501
Florida	79,594	75,204	63,866	5.8	2.8	463
Georgia	47,200	47,424	34,168	0.5	4.1	539
Kentucky	16,190	15,572	12,060	4.0	3.7	392
Louisiana	36,047	36,032	25,195	0.0	4.6	801
Maryland	23,230	23,274	20,450	0.2	1.6	420
Mississippi	22,168	21,397	12,251	3.6	7.7	768
North Carolina	29,394	28,613	27,914	2.7	0.6	348
Oklahomad	22,448	22,702	18,151	1.1	2.7	636
South Carolina	22,942	22,837	19,015	0.5	2.4	551
Tennesseed	25,403	24,989	15,206	1.7	6.6	433
Texasd	156,534	151,782	127,766	3.1	2.6	702
Virginia	35,067	34,973	27,260	0.3	3.2	472
West Virginia	4,715	4,504	2,483	4.7	8.3	260
West	281,135	273,634	207,661	2.7%	3.9%	419
Alaska	2,629	2,577	2,042	2.0	3.2	401
Arizona	29,722	28,008	20,291	6.1	4.9	525
California	162,678	159,984	131,745	1.7	2.7	455
Colorado	19,671	18,833	11,063	4.4	7.5	430
Hawaii	4,167	3,840	2,590	8.5	6.1	325
Idaho	5,887	5,746	3,328	2.5	7.4	427
Montana	3,620	3,323	1,999	8.9	7.7	393
Nevada	10,543	10,478	7,713	0.6	4.0	462
New Mexico	5,934	5,631	3,925	5.4	5.3	314
Oregon	12,695	12,080	6,515	5.1	8.7	354
Utah	5,681	5,475	3,447	3.8	6.4	240
Washington	16,036	15,922	11,608	0.7	4.1	260
Wyoming	1,872	1,737	1,395	7.8	3.7	372
aThe average annual percentage increase from 1995 to 2003.
bPrisoners with sentences of more than 1 year per 100,000 residents.
cThe incarceration rate includes an estimated 6,200 inmates sentenced to more than 1 year but held in local jails or houses of corrections.
dIncludes some inmates sentenced to 1 year or less.
eNot calculated.

FIGURE 2.1
State and local expenditures on selected government
functions, 1977–2001
SOURCE: Lynn Bauer and Steven D. Owens, "Percent of State and Local Expenditure for Selected Functions, 1977–2001," in Justice Expenditure and Employment in the United States, 2001, Bureau of Justice Statistics, May 2004, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/jeeus01.pdf (accessed March 30, 2005)