Of every dollar that governments spent in the 1996/97 fiscal year, approximately 3 cents was spent on policing, courts and correctional services. This is similar to what was spent in four other sectors: resource conservation and industrial development, national defence, recreation and culture, and t...
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.561.7820 http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/Statcan/85-002-XIE/0129985-002-XIE.pdf |
| Summary: | Of every dollar that governments spent in the 1996/97 fiscal year, approximately 3 cents was spent on policing, courts and correctional services. This is similar to what was spent in four other sectors: resource conservation and industrial development, national defence, recreation and culture, and the environment. The largest portion of the government dollar was spent on social services (31 cents), followed by debt charges (15 cents), education (14 cents) and health (14 cents). Spending on six sectors of the justice system – policing, courts, legal aid, criminal prosecutions, adult corrections and youth corrections – totalled almost $10 billion in 1996/97. This was the equivalent of $337 for every person in Canada. Of the $10 billion that was spent, the majority (59%) was spent on policing. Next most costly was adult corrections, at 20%. The remaining money was spent on courts (9%), legal aid (5%), youth corrections (5%) and criminal prosecutions (3%). When adjusted for inflation and increases in the population, spending on justice services in 1996/97 was down approximately 2 % from the previous year and about 8 % from 4 years before. In 1996/97, per capita spending on justice services was highest in the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Among the provinces, the figure ranged from $175 per person in Newfoundland to $264 per person in Ontario. Except for Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, per capita spending (adjusted for inflation) was down in all jurisdictions when compared to 1994/95. Almost 120,000 people were employed full-time in the justice system in 1996/97, that is, by the police, courts, legal aid plans, criminal prosecutions and adult corrections. Over half (62%) worked for the police. From 1992/93 to 1996/97, the number of employees declined by about 3%, equivalent to a decline of more than 7 % on a per capita basis. These declines have been less severe than overall cuts in the public sector. 2 Statistics Canada – Catalogue no. 85-002, Vol. 19, No. 12 |
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