| Legislatures and law enforcement agencies are | | | | other states have followed California's trend and |
| always looking for ways to reduce the number of | | | | enacted their own similar statutes. The statutes |
| individuals who commit crimes. Because of this | | | | enacted by roughly half of the states in the |
| goal, a chief objective of many of the | | | | country require a state court to hand down a |
| punishments for crimes is deterrence. One way in | | | | mandatory and extended period of incarceration |
| which agencies and state and the federal | | | | (like life in prison) for those who have been |
| legislatures have attempted to decrease the | | | | convicted of serious criminal offenses on three or |
| number of crimes being committed is by | | | | more separate occasions. |
| implementing "three strikes" laws. Just like in | | | | While the states have enacted these bits of |
| baseball, three strikes and you're out. | | | | legislation with the best intentions, they have been |
| The basic premise behind the three strikes laws in | | | | met with some hostility from other states saying |
| existence now is that recidivism should be | | | | that the statutes don't work. Some argue that |
| punished. A person should be punished more | | | | there is virtually no difference between the crime |
| severely for subsequent crimes since he or she | | | | rates of states with statutes and those without. |
| clearly didn't learn not to commit crimes the first | | | | This is untrue, at least for the example below. |
| time. This principle can be seen in various drunk | | | | In 1993, the year before it enacted its statute, |
| driving conviction rules as well as in the three | | | | California recorded 336,381 separate incidents of |
| strikes laws. Here, a person is given two | | | | violent crimes. In 2000, the number of violent |
| convictions with "ordinary" terms of incarceration | | | | crimes had dropped to 210,531 separate incidents |
| and then, with the third crime, a person is sent | | | | for a 37% or so reduction in the number |
| away for life. Fortunately, not just any crime | | | | reported. Minnesota, a state without a three |
| warrants application to the three strikes law. | | | | strikes statute in place as of 2000, had 183,347 |
| Generally only serious criminal offenses, like | | | | violent crimes reported in 1993. In 2000, |
| felonies, are considered eligible. | | | | Minnesota reported 157,798 violent crimes which |
| This type of law initially became popular during the | | | | results in a reduction in crime of 13%. Obviously, |
| early 1990s when California became the first | | | | California's reduction was greater than Minnesota's |
| state to enact a provision like this. Since 1994, 23 | | | | by twenty four percentage points. |