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6.3.2 Local Government Expenditures on Law Enforcement: Per Capita & Per $1,000 Total Personal Income (TPI)
Why is this important?
A fundamental function of local government is to provide a safe environment for all its citizens. One measure of its ability to do so consists of its funding for law enforcement. Unlike the national budget, local and state budgets are required by law to be balanced. The foundation of every local, county, and state budget is trying to find the balance of providing the highest necessary service with the available funding.
To assess this balance, two measures of local funding for law enforcement are used in this indicator The first is common and straightforward: per capita, or average local government expenditures. The second involves comparing total public spending to total personal income. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, total personal income (TPI) “is the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income, and personal current transfer receipts.” In short, TPI is the total income received from all sources of income in a particular area, such as the total income earned by all people in a city or county, from all sources of income, before any taxes are paid. Using the local government expenditures per $1,000 TPI ratio allows us to understand how big a share of a typical resident’s budget law enforcement services takes up. This view allows a comparison of residents’ apparent willingness to pay for law enforcement services with the willingness of all residents in the state to pay for their law enforcement services.
This indicator is important to track because law enforcement is always one of the largest components of any government budget, so it naturally receives much of the attention of both elected officials and citizens.
This indicator measures local government expenditures on law enforcement in Walla Walla County on a per capita basis and per $1,000 of total personal income (TPI). Using a ratio with TPI allows us to understand how big a share of a resident’s budget goes to law enforcement. Washington State is offered as a benchmark. Additional information, including the total dollar amount of expenditures in the county and state, can be found in the “Download Data” section.
Where are we?
During 2023, the local government expenditures for law enforcement on a per capita basis in:
- Walla Walla County (non-institutionalized population) was $232.52, increasing from $219.29 since 2012.
- Walla Walla County (institutionalized population included) was $225.38, increasing from $211.46 since 2012.
- Washington State was $324.65, increasing from $240.24 since 2012.
During 2023, the local government expenditures for law enforcement based on $1,000 of total personal income (TPI) in:
- Walla Walla County was $4.15, decreasing from $5.72 in 2012.
- Washington State was $4.40, decreasing from $5.04 in 2012.
Notes:
1) The latest personal income data is from 2022.
2) Local Government expenditures in Walla Walla County are unusually low in 2023 due to the county figures not being present in the data.
Data Sources
Office of the Washington State Auditor: Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT)
- On the left side of the screen, select “Data Extracts," then "Full Extracts," and select the desired year.
- In the first Excel sheet labeled "Schedule1_YEAR," navigate to the following columns
- FinancialSummary to only include "Expenditures" and BARSAccount to include any entries that start with 521.
- Next, refer to CountyName and filter by the desired county. Calculate the sum of the entries in the Amount column to calculate the amount of expenditures for the desired county.
- Population: Refer to the OFM website, under "Preliminary county data," click on the link next to "Race and Hispanic Origin," refer to "Table 1," and gather population data from the Total column for the desired year.
- Total Personal Income (TPI): Go to the BEA website, under "Personal Income and Employment by County and Metropolitan Area", select "County and MSA personal income summary: personal income, population, per capita personal income", then “County." Select the desired area, then statistic as "Personal Income (thousands of dollars)," and the unit of measure as "Levels."
Penitentiary Population: Under Statistical Reports and Average Daily Population of Incarcerated Individuals in Prisons, see the PDF named "Fiscal Years 2010-2023." Compute the average of ADP for all the months inside the desired year.
Notes:
1) Expenditures per Capita = Total Expenditures divided by Total Population
2) Expenditures per $1,000 TPI = Total Expenditures divided by Total Personal Income
