Effective Investments in Public Safety
Introduction
Resources
JPI Factsheets (left column)
JPI Research (left column)
Introduction
After a nearly continuous 13-year drop, crime rates in the U.S. have slightly increased. Nationwide, violent crime rose 2.3 percent between 2004 and 2005. Based on data in the FBI’s Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, released in December 2006, the upward trend appears to be continuing, as violent crime rose 3.7 percent between the first six months of 2005 and the same time period in 2006.
While any rise in crime should be taken seriously, this recent uptick must be put in perspective. After experiencing a steady drop in violent crimes since a 1992 peak, crime rates remain near a 30-year low. The streets are still much safer today than they were a decade or so ago. According to surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the odds of being a victim of violent crime are approximately 60 percent lower today than they were in 1994.
Despite the positive long-term trends, when confronted with rising levels of crime – or even the perception of rising crime – elected officials and other leading public voices tend to focus on finding an immediate short-term fix. Some call for more funds for policing – as they are doing now – and others, longer prison sentences. Although the United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world, it is not clear that prisons have made us safer. This issue is particularly important for non-White and low-income communities, which experience violent crime at significantly higher rates and are also the most impacted by the expanding use of prisons.
JPI has dedicated this section of its website to examining the complicated issues of crime, prisons, and safety.
The fact sheets below provide a wide variety of data and statistics which suggest that public safety goals would be better served by federal, state, and local investments in education, drug treatment, and stimulating economic growth rather than on prisons or longer sentences. A list of JPI resources by topic areas is followed by links to the websites of other organizations that offer additional resources or are doing good work on these topics.
If you know of any additional information that would be useful to visitors to this page, please forward it along to info@justicepolicy.org
Resources
New poll shows Americans support investing in prevention, not trying youth as adults. A new public opinion survey commissioned by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency by Zogby International Inc. found that 80 percent of those surveyed think that spending on rehabilitative services and treatment for youth will save tax dollars in the long run, and two thirds disagree that incarcerating youth in adult facilities deters youth from crime.
Young people are not driving rising crime: Putting America’s public safety challenges into perspective. In Too Soon to Tell: Deciphering Recent Trends in Youth Violence, by Jeffrey A. Butts and Howard N. Snyder, The Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago shows that while crime may have risen this year “it is inappropriate to describe the turnaround in violent crime as a problem of ‘juvenile’ violence.”
Rising incarceration rates do not mean less crime. In Reconsidering Incarceration: New Directions for Reducing Crime, by Don Stemen, The Vera Institute of Justice examines the most recent research on the effectiveness of incarceration in reducing crime rates. The evidence shows incarceration to have some effect on reducing crime. However, it also suggests that policymakers consider investing in areas such as policing, jobs, or education, which show equal or better correlation with lower rates of crime.
Evaluation of Department of Justice Prevention Programs. A National Institute of Justice report Preventing Crime: An Overview, by Lawrence W. Sherman et al, found that some prevention programs work, some do not, some are promising, and some have not been tested adequately. Given the evidence of promising and effective programs, the report found that the effectiveness of Department of Justice funding depends heavily on whether it is directed to the urban neighborhoods where youth violence is highly concentrated. Substantial reductions in national rates of serious crime can only be achieved by prevention in areas of concentrated poverty, where the majority of all homicides in the nation occur, and where homicide rates are 20 times the national average.
Cost-benefits of Alternatives to Incarceration. A 2006 study by Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) concluded that one dollar invested in imprisoning people convicted of drug offenses produced just $.37 in crime reduction benefits to taxpayers and victims, while providing drug treatment to offenders in the community produced $18.52 in benefits. WSIPP carries out non-partisan research on a multitude of topics, including the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems, and provides exemplary cost-benefit analyses of alternatives to incarceration, including drug treatment programs.
Treatment is more cost effective than prison. The 1997 Rand Corporation study Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Throwing Away the Key or the Taxpayers’ Money, by Jonathan P. Caulkins, C. Peter Rydell, William L. Schwabe and James Chiesa, compares the cost-effectiveness of three programs designed to reduce consumption of cocaine: longer sentences, conventional enforcement and treatment for heavy users. The authors estimate that treatment is a 10 to 15 times more cost-effective way of reducing drug-related crime than are enforcement interventions.
Survey backs drug treatment: Most respondents view programs as prison alternative for addicts. A 2006 poll commissioned by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore found that likely voters in Maryland favor mandatory treatment for drug users over prison by more than 4 to 1; 67 percent view drug treatment as being more effective than incarceration. The poll also showed that 69 percent of voters see treatment as an effective way to overcome drug addiction.
More education means less crime. In Saving Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and Earnings (PDF) , The Alliance for Excellent Education reported that a 5 percent increase in male high school graduation rates (in 2006) would produce an annual savings of almost $5 billion in crime-related expenses. Coupled with annual earnings of those who graduated, the U.S. would receive $7.7 billion in benefits. California itself would receive over $1 billion in benefits from these increasing graduation rates. State by state analysis is included.
Law enforcement agrees that prevention is key to reducing youth violence. A 2002 National Law Enforcement Leadership Survey (PDF) conducted by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids showed that 71.1 percent of surveyed chiefs of police, sheriffs and prosecutors agreed that providing more educational and after-school programs would make the greatest impact in reducing youth crime and violence. The poll showed that only 14.9 percent said that hiring more police would have the greatest impact.
Prison population expected to grow. A report by Pew Charitable Trusts Public Safety, Public Spending: Forecasting America’s Prison Population 2007-2011 is the first known attempt to determine the future growth of the nation’s state and federal prison systems as a whole, along with the projected cost of that growth. Its findings show that America’s prison population will continue its extraordinary growth in the coming years, with more than 192,000 prisoners added by 2011. This growth will carry a heavy fiscal burden, estimated at up to $12.5 billion in new prison construction and $15 billion in operations costs.
Survey Results show changing public attitudes toward the criminal justice system. A 2002 survey (PDF) by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc found that a strong majority of Americans (66 percent) think that rehabilitation through education and job training is the best way to reduce crime. 63 percent of Americans surveyed said that drug abusers should be treated rather than incarcerated. 85 percent of those surveyed supported prevention and intervention programs for youth rather than incarceration. In addition, 56 percent of adult Americans favor the elimination of three-strike laws and mandatory sentencing.
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