The PBO tallies the cost of crime policy
Spending is on the rise and the provinces are carrying the cost
Share
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has released an “expenditure analysis of criminal justice in Canada.”
As a percentage of GDP, total criminal justice system expenditures trended downwards from 2002 to 2006 (1.032% to 0.968%) and since 2006 they have steadily increased to 1.115% in 2012…
Correction expenditures as a percentage of GDP declined for the federal government from 2001-2002 through 2005-2006 (0.131% to 0.114%) and increased through 2011-2012 (0.150%). For the provinces’ and territories’ correction expenditures as a percentage of GDP declined through 2006-2007 (0.116% to 0.093%) and have increased to 2011-2012 (0.109%).
In total, the PBO finds that the federal and provincial governments spent $20.3 billion in 2011-2012, comparable to the budget of National Defence, with the provinces carrying just less than three-fourths of that cost.