Budget Strategy – criminal justice agency
Overview of the Budget Issue
A budget refers to a plan by a government or business on how to spend funds to achieve planned objectives. Various budgetary issues can be identified in the criminal justice system in the United States. The criminal justice system was supplemented with income in the 2021 budget to fight illegal gun trafficking and other vices such as explosives, tobacco, and alcohol (Pérez Esparza et al., 2021). However, illegal gun trafficking is the issue addressed in this strategy. It takes various forms, including ghost guns, which have contributed to shooting cases of American citizens. The issue can be addressed at the state level by budgeting and allocating police resources to fight against illegal gun trafficking.
How the Gun Trafficking Budgetary Issue Might Be Different At Different Levels
The issue of illegal gun trafficking can be different at various levels, such as at the state and local government. Notably, this is so because policymaking at these levels is limited, including limitations on the funds involved in the budgeting process (Ho, 2018). Budgeting involves allocating funds to competing priorities. At the state level, funding allocated towards the criminal justice system can be higher than in local states. However, the issue still applies to all these governing authorities because it affects citizens within their jurisdiction. Specifically, illegal gun trafficking has its roots in the issue of ghost guns. Therefore, in allocating funds to illegal gun trafficking, the amount that will be used to target ghost guns specifically will be a prudent idea for local and state governments. Even though there are differences in the amounts that can be allocated, addressing the issue requires a similar approach.
Approach to the Gun Trafficking Budgetary Issue
The approach to the gun trafficking budgetary issue will entail allocating significant resources to the issue. In doing so, three recommendations are made to improve the budget issue. First, the allocation of funding to the gun trafficking budget issue should be based on the various constituents of the issue. For instance, the issue of ghost guns should be allocated more funding because it forms the root problem of illegal gun trafficking. Second, the approach should entail being backed by laws and policies that support separate treatment of issues under the gun trafficking aspect. Notably, this entails creating an office in the state and local government that focuses explicitly on fighting illegal gun trafficking, which will also be responsible for allocating the funds allocated to the office to issues that require more attention, such as ghost guns. Finally, state and local governments should create supplementary budgets to reinforce tackling the budget issue in case the funds allocated fail to be sufficient.
Governing policies will likely influence the above approach through differences in their requirements and suggested approaches. Thus, the issue will be reviewed to fit into the existing policies. For instance, the approach recommendation of creating a new office to respond to the issue lacks support from the existing policies. Thus, the approach will avoid those suggestions that contradict existing policies and push for the passing of supporting policies before implementation. It is worth noting that public sector funding is also another factor that will influence the approach toward the budget issue. Essentially, public sector funding will improve the approach to the budget issue because public sector funding can allocate a significant amount of funds to the issue. Also, public sector funding is subject to public scrutiny (Mau, 2019). Thus, the approach will be transparent and effective.
The budgeting proposal compilation will entail creating background information on the budget issue, the proposed allocation for the budget issue, and the cost worksheet for budget issue expenditures. The following table presents the cost worksheet to be included in the budget.
| Budget for Gun Trafficking Fight | |
| Total Allocation | $2,350,000 |
| Constituents | |
| Operating expenses | 735,000 |
| Staffing | 500,000 |
| Equipment | 565,000 |
| Investigations | 550,000 |
References
Ho, A. T. K. (2018). From performance budgeting to performance budget management: theory and practice. Public Administration Review, 78(5), 748–758.
Mau, T. A. (2019). Enhancing leadership capacity in the public sector: branding as an employer of choice. International Journal of Public Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPL-05-2019-0019.
Pérez Esparza, D., Pérez Ricart, C. A., & Weigend Vargas, E. (2021). An Introduction to “Gun Trafficking and Violence: From the Global Network to the Local Security Challenge”. In Gun Trafficking and Violence (pp. 1-18). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
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Question 
As you develop a budget strategy and prepare to create a budget proposal next week, perform an internet search for templates and examples of the following:
Budget strategy
Budget proposal
Cost worksheet
Research budget proposals from various criminal justice agencies. These are typically available publicly on the organization’s website or may be provided on request. In your research, look for trends in budget issues. Be sure to look at public sector funding and local and federal policies that impact budget planning.
Budget Strategy – criminal justice agency
Based on the budget issue trends you’ve found, select one budget issue that you’ll address in your own budget proposal for a criminal justice agency of your choosing.
Create a 550-word budget strategy for a criminal justice agency of your choice. This strategy will inform the budget proposal you create in your Wk 4 assignment. Address the following in your strategy:
Provide an overview of the budget issue you chose and why you consider this an important issue for your selected criminal justice agency to overcome in the budget.
Explain how the budget issue might be different at a different level (i.e., state or local). Would it be applicable?
Explain your approach to the budget issue. Address the following:
Identify 2–3 suggestions on how to improve the budget issue.
Explain how governing policies may affect your approach to the budget issue.
Explain how public sector funding may affect your approach to the budget issue.
Detail your strategy for compiling your budget proposal and how it will address the budget issue.
Draft the cost worksheet that will be included in your budget.
Note: You may wish to organize this assignment in an outline format with tables to make it easier for you to transition information into your Wk 4 – Budget Proposal assignment.
Format your references according to APA guidelines.