Cost of Justice

Cost of justice
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Institution affiliation
Abstract
With the number of incarcerated Americans being on the rise, the question of how costly the justice system still lingers. American still holds the record as the country with the highest number of incarcerations. According to Starr (2013), 1 out of every 100 Americans faces incarceration at some point in their lives. As it stands, the towering budgetary allocation on the sector continues to soar with the infamous war on crime gaining momentum. In fact, in the year 2006, the government spent a staggering $ 250 billion on the entire field, a sum that encompassed confinement, supervision, police services, as well as resource management. This devastatingly stiff spending curve led to the cutting of budgets, which still was barely enough. This subject has attracted several questions regarding the actual benefit of incarcerating. This paper thus discusses the cost-benefit analysis of the entire correctional system in an attempt decree justice as worthwhile. It further explores the actual footprint of imprisonment concerning the social, economic, and personal aspects. It also discusses the extent to which incarceration paves the way for justice and at what cost. The paper will finally conclude that stringent reforms in the system would come in handy in cutting costs substantially.
Key words-correction, justice, the justice system, US, America, incarceration, prisons, criminal, budget, spending, rates.
Introduction
In the recent years, the US justice and criminal system have grown dramatically despite the downward spiral in crimes.

According to The Council of Economic Advisors (2014, p.8), ‘the number of incarcerated people in the US has grown nearly by 350 percent resulting in approximately 2.2 million people behind bars.’ The economic impact is equally devastating seeing as the country spends close to $ 180 billion on the same, making the incarceration per capita rate five times higher than that of the entire world. Although incarceration has been instrumental, considerable research concludes that it does not account for the decreasing crime rates. While there lacks a consensus on it, improving economic statuses, instilling progressive policing tactics, and change in demography have come in handy in reversing the previous crime trends. To further debunk the much-controverted issue, economists have several cost-benefit analysis theories to establish the most worthwhile policy of attaining justice. The US justice system fails blatantly as it fixates on solving crimes other than attaining justice for all, therefore, if the Senate is to succeed in cutting the overall costs, it must embrace a holistic system which encompasses improving the living standards for the marginalized, instilling community policing, and minimizing incarceration rates.
What is justice?
While the law upholds liberty and justice for everyone, it also requires every American to abide by the state, federal and local laws, failure to which he or is subject to punishment. This penance can be through retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Justice refers to the tenet of social life that concerns the administration of fairness. In institutions where people interact and seem to disagree, justice institutions come handy in instituting peace. Indeed, the Bible advocates for it arguing that those who sin must face punishment. In Romans 6:23 (King James Version), it says that ‘for the wages of sin is death’ depicting that crime must not attract indemnity.
Are we achieving it?
A clergy member recently asserted that ‘the issue of justice in America stands at crossroads. We can take the high road towards achieving justice, or we can go the opposite direction and move away from equal opportunity and justice (Jackson, 2013, p.1).’ This segment concludes that while the court system has attempted to dispose some semblance of justice to people, it still leaves a lot to desire when it comes to equality. Many believe that American can only truly achieve justice when it ends the failed war on drugs, decrease the dreadful hyper-incarceration, recommit to democracy, implement the affordable care act, as well as change the working and the living conditions of the average American. The social system too is an avenue for deep-rooted inequality as ethnic, racial, and gender profiling still soar.
The cost-benefit analysis of justice
Costs
In the recent past, the US justice system has resulted to budget cuts in an attempt to shrink the spending. However, the staggering figures regarding costs leave a lot to desire. For instance, For instance, the direct expenditure has tripled over the last two decades bringing the total spending to $ 270 billion. In 2011, incarceration alone scooped $ 80 billion, and 11 states spend more on the correctional program than on the educational system. Also, the employment of the prison officers was 2.5 higher than the police services. Other indirect costs include the collateral damages that face a formerly incarcerated individual. For instance, these find it hard to secure jobs and social connections regardless of their previous job qualifications. This trend persists because employers find it hard to trust ex-convicts thus the later end up unemployed. Their status renders them unreproductive thus unable to contribute to the economy. Another way that these patterns hurt a country is through the interruption of the education and the employment curve of individuals in question take, for instance, all the Hispanic, black Americans and Latin youths jailed for possession of drugs. According to The Council of Economic Advisors (2014, p. 9) ‘ one-third of the incarcerated population has received public assistance the year after leaving the prisons.’ This assertion depicts that the financial sector hurts a great deal in the end.
Benefits
Looking at the issue from the viewing glass of advantages, one would conclude that the US justice system has made commendable contributions towards restoring sobriety. New policing laws have come in handy in minimizing crimes that previously cost the country lump sums of money. Other indirect benefits of the endeavor include minimizing suffering and pain on the general population, improving the quality of life, as well as minimizing suffering and pain on individuals (Starr 2013).
Conclusion
This research establishes that America has a long way towards attaining the affordable justice. This research establishes that, despite incarceration taking a huge portion of national finances, it plays a minimal role towards the creation of sobriety and justice. The research also proves that hiring more police would reduce crime by 7 percent, translating to a net socio-economic benefit of $ 24 billion. Lastly, improving the living conditions of the marginalized societies would alleviate 30 percent of crimes. The paper thus concludes that the society plays a massive role in spearheading crime and that the government can only successfully culminate crime through the outright reform of the social living conditions of the people as opposed to taking action when the damage is already done. Incarceration, regardless of how costly it is, cannot be the panacea to the longstanding puzzle thus the waged war on crime would only bear fruits if the country minimizes incarcerations, directs finances towards standards of living, as well as endorses more hands-on policing techniques.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Jackson, J. (2013, February 4). The state of equality and justice in America stands at crossroads. The Washington Post, p. 1.
Starr, S. (2013). On the Role of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Criminal Justice Policy: A Response to The Imprisoner’s Dilemma. Iowa L. Rev. Bull, 97 (111), 98.
The Council of Economic Advisors, U. (2016). The economic perspective of incarceration and the criminal justice. Washington, DC: The office of the President of the United States.