Providing for public safety is a basic duty of government. Eight percent of all state and local government expenditures in Alabama are directed at this goal.
Most would agree that crime is the main public safety issue. Alabama’s crime rates are generally lower today than in the 1990s, but in four of seven categories tracked by the FBI, they are above the national average.
The largest public safety expense is for law enforcement, and it is mainly a responsibility of cities and counties. Alabama has fewer officers and records fewer arrests per capita than the national average. State troopers enforce laws on the highways. Trooper numbers also are well below national norms, and increasing them has become a state priority. Alabama’s 1,131 highway fatalities in 2005 were high in relation to the state’s population.
Punishment and rehabilitation of offenders is the second-largest public safety expense. The state maintains prisons for those convicted of serious “felony” crimes, and counties have jails to serve the courts and house those convicted of lesser “misdemeanors.” Some offenders are supervised in the community, allowing them to complete an education, be treated for addiction and work to offset the costs they have imposed on society.
Alabama ranks fifth among all states in the number of prison inmates per capita. The cost per inmate is below most other states but still averaged $13,400 in 2006. State prisons today house twice as many inmates as they were designed to hold. Half have been committed for crimes of violence against persons, 28 percent for property crimes such as theft and 17 percent for drug crimes. About 93 percent is male, 59 percent is black and 60 percent has not completed high school. State prison officials are pursuing a plan to remedy prison overcrowding, staffing shortages, inadequate facilities and rising health-care costs.
Courts and prosecutors make up the third major category of public safety expenses. About 47 percent of Alabama felony convictions are for drug-related offenses, and property crimes account for another 40 percent. State court initiatives are underway to improve criminal sentencing practices and create specialized drug courts linked closely to treatment.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
Share with others: