The Justice Policy Institute, which examines issues related to law enforcement, issued a report based on information gleaned from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA). From the information gathered from both reports, JPI concluded that the $2 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds spent on the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) “did not produce significant public safety outcomes.”
The JPI report claims that money was spent on law enforcement even though there was a distinct drop in the crime rate from 2005 through 2009.
Funding for law enforcement results in more arrests and incarceration of low-level, and non-violent offenders, and targets people of color and the communities they live in, the JPI report asserts.
Citing numbers from the NCJA report, JPI showed that the largest percentage of Byrne JAG funds (29.8%) went to multi- jurisdictional task forces, and only 13.3 % and 4.8% was spent on drug treatment and enforcement, and crime prevention and education, respectively. 24.4% was spent on Corrections. According to JPI, prosecution was handed seven times more money than public defense, which negatively impacts those defendants living in low-income areas, as police officers usually return to these communities to make arrests.
The JPI report revealed that substance abuse and mental health treatment funding in the criminal justice system is not adequate, and that juvenile justice programs do not receive the funding needed to be effective in providing positive outcomes for juveniles under their care. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is another entity that took a hit from the JPI report. While admitting that using ARRA funds to hire more people in the law enforcement field had a “short term economic benefit,” JPI suggests that money poured in to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMSHA) would be better spent. Hiring drug treatment professionals, rather than law enforcement officers, would be more productive as clients might well stay out of the criminal justice system, having a positive impact on public safety, and on the “productivity” of clients. By using the large number of people arrested as a measure of success, the DOJ encourages even more arrests and less incentive for law enforcement agencies to seek alternatives to incarceration such as community service, or substance abuse and mental health treatment, concludes the JPI report.
The Justice Policy Institute suggested several ways that Byrne JAG funds might be better spent:
1) Right-size” law enforcement. Cut law enforcement when the crime rate drops.
2) Fund substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment through public health systems. Reach people before they enter the criminal justice system, thereby eliminating the costs related to court and incarceration, and providing treatment so that a person does not obtain the life -altering stigma of having a criminal record.
3) Develop more accurate measures for public safety. Money spent on public safety should include programs the deal with housing, job training, education and mental health and substance abuse treatment.
4) End the Byrne JAG formula grants, and instead directly and competitively fund programs that have been shown to improve public safety. Recognize and promote programs that are effective in the criminal justice system and award future grants to the organizations or agencies that provide them.
To read the full report Click here to go to website
Source: Justice Policy Institute
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