Abstract
This study examines the actual cost to the Australian taxpayer of maintaining the nation's criminal justice system - police, prisons, courts, etc. - the system that exists as a direct result of crime in our society. The study analyses expenditure over the period 1963-64 to 1973-74 on Law, Order and Public Safety and compares it to expenditure on Education and Health. The Law, Order and Public Safety classification is examined in greater detail under the headings Gaols and Reformatories, Administration of Justice and Police.