ABSTRACT
Virtually everyone who studies or works in the criminal justice system agrees that putting people in prison is costly and ineffective. The number of police officers and civilian employees in law enforcement in the United States doubled between 1980 and 1992, and in 1994 the Senate passed and President Bill Clinton signed into law the most expensive federal crime bill in history. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act provided state and municipal governments with $30 billion to add 100,000 new police officers, build prisons, and employ more prison guards. This bill was, of course, lobbied for and strongly supported by correctional officer associations, police trade unions, and private corporations specializing in the prison industry, including building contractors, food suppliers, and others who profit from increased expenditures on criminal justice. Police and correctional officers unions have become increasingly powerful lobbies.
