This report presents preliminary estimates for 2017 of government expenditures and employment at the national, federal, state, and local levels for the following justice categories: police protection, all judicial and legal functions (including prosecution, courts, and public defense), and corrections. Data are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s finance and employment portions of the Census of Governments.
The Guide is for users of data reported in the Justice Expenditure and Employment data series. It presents a historical overview of the series, the methodology of data collection, definitions of terms and concepts, and comparability issues between the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Criminal justice Expenditure and Employment (JEE Survey) and the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS’s) Justice Expenditure and Employment extracts (JEEE) series. BJS first published justice expenditure and employment data in fiscal year (FY) 1971, using data collected through the JEE Survey, which was conducted annually from 1971 to 1979. It provided detailed, comprehensive statistics on the justice activities of federal, state, and local governments. Detailed estimates and findings from each survey were published as a BJS preliminary report or BJS bulletin. In 1980, the JEE Survey was discontinued for budgetary reasons; however, special JEE Surveys were collected in 1985, 1988, and 1990. The cancellation of the JEE Survey left a gap in national statistics on criminal justice expenditure and employment. In filling this void, BJS extracted justice data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual surveys of government finances and public employment (annual surveys) in 1980. These data were then published as BJS’s Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts (JEEE) series. The annual surveys began collecting judicial and legal services data as its own category. This guide’s description of methodology addresses data collection sample design, survey period, data review and adjustments, non-responding governments, data limitations of the JEEE, and data differences from other Census publications. The discussion of comparability issues between the JEE Survey and the JEEE address differences in detail, sample design, survey procedures, and operational definitions. JEE Survey and JEEE trend analysis is also addressed.