County faces rising cost of justice
Yvonne Wingett and Michael Kiefer
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 12, 2007 12:00 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... 2new.html#

The price of justice in Maricopa County is $734 million, and growing fast.

The county's criminal-justice spending has more than doubled over the past decade, soaring to 35 percent of the operating budget and eating up money for public health, parks, recreation and transportation.

The burgeoning world of judges and bureaucrats, victims and criminals, defense attorneys and prosecutors now costs you double what it did in 1997 - $204 per county resident, up from $93. advertisement




It bites the biggest chunk out of the county's checkbook. But as much as county officials would like to stem these rising costs, they can't.

"We're not going to be able to build anywhere as much of the (county's) infrastructure needs as we thought we would be able to because a percentage of it is being sucked up into the criminal-justice system," said Supervisor Don Stapley. "Public safety is our highest priority. We don't have any choice."

The county's population is booming. So is the number of criminal cases filed with the county, rising to more than 40,000 last year and projected to keep growing. But those figures tell only part of the story.

More criminal cases are going to trial. Costs of defending the poor have hit an all-time high. High methamphetamine use has driven up crime, officials say. Health costs for jail inmates are soaring. Immigration, both legal and illegal, further strains the system.

For years, the infrastructure has fallen behind the growth. Now, county officials are playing catch-up, moving forward with one of the county's most expensive projects ever: $334 million for 32 new criminal courtrooms in downtown Phoenix.

The Criminal Court Tower will replace the Madison Street Garage, at the southwest corner of First Avenue and Madison Street, and will connect to the current central court complex. It could open in early 2011.

"The county has no choice as to who commits crimes and who gets referred into the system," said County Manager David Smith. "It's a demand-driven business, and there's relentless pressure of caseloads."

The budgets of almost everything related to criminal justice at least doubled between 1997 and 2007, including the offices of the sheriff, the county attorney and medical examiner, the costs for adult and juvenile probation, attorneys for people who can't afford them, and medical and mental health care for county-jail inmates.

It is difficult to measure how Maricopa County's spending stacks up against other U.S. counties, say national criminal-justice experts, because county functions, services and policies differ so vastly.

It's one of the major challenges facing county governments, said Donald Murray, senior legislative director for justice and public safety at the National Association of Counties.

"Maricopa County is a booming county, and you would expect to see a growth in criminal justice."