NCJ Number
176878
Date Published
1998
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This analysis of three-strikes laws enacted by 23 States and the Federal Government starting in 1993 focuses on their impacts on costs, prison admissions, crime, and the overall functioning of the criminal justice system.
Abstract
The analysis revealed that these laws have had a substantial impact in California and Georgia, but minimal impact in most States and the Federal system. Most States and the Federal Government drafted laws that were narrowly tailored, so their use has been limited and their disruptive impact minimized. However, the California law has been implemented at great economic cost in terms of preconviction jail time, case processing, trials of defendants facing three-strikes terms, future prison construction, and future care for elderly inmates. In addition, crime rates began to decline in California before the passage of three strikes and have declined as much or more in some States without such laws. The California law has also had unintended and uneven impacts. Nevertheless, politicians still strongly support the law. The continuing political support demonstrates the need for rational and honest debate and careful study when such laws are being developed; it requires extraordinary political courage to retreat from the rhetoric involved. Table, reference notes, and list of data sources from the 23 States and the Federal Government