Three Strikes Law

As most Americans citizens know crime today in many states has increased over the past decades. Over the years many states have found ways to deal with crime in their respective cities. This essays will provide information on the history, current laws in some U.S. states and the impact on society’s public safety. What is the first thing you associate with the words “three strikes?” A major or minor league baseball game should be the first thing that comes to mind. Not many people would you associate these three words with crime. For example, running a red light for the third time does not constitute jail or prison time. However, committing the same offense while drinking for the third time does constitute some form of punishment. Let’s the …show more content…
In 1992 the Seattle Times were the first to use the slogan “three strikes as a crime control policy in major American media outlets and in 1993 voters in Washington elected to pass the three strikes law in to legislation (Caukins, 2011). According to Clark (1997) between 1993 and 1995 twenty-four states and Federal Government enacted new laws using the “three-strikes.” Washington and California were the first States to implement the three-strike laws (Clark, Austin, & Henry 1997). This law is intended to impose longer or indeterminate sentences for criminals who commit violent and serious crimes (Andrus, …show more content…
cities. Public safety is enviable and must be protected from habitual offenders. Does implementing the three strikes law really benefit society? Are we really protecting society? According to Brown and Jolivette (2005), in a survey and discussions with leading criminologist, found that there is little consensus among researchers about the impact of Three Strikes on public safety, even after more than ten years of application. There has been several explanations given by researchers for why the Three Strikes may not have had as large a public safety impact as originally predicted (Brown & Jolivette, 2005). There are three reasons Brown and Jolivette feel the Three Strikes law may not have a large impact on the public safety of society. First, there are some differences is in the application of the Three Strikes law by the counties mitigates the full impact of the Three Strikes by reducing the number of offenders who are sentenced to prison for longer periods. Another difference stated is, if the state’s crime rate was declining independently of Three Strikes due to other criminal justice or societal factors, this trend might have resulted in fewer Three Strikes eligible cases compared to earlier projections. Third reason Brown and Jolivette mentioned is that some research by Frank Zimring and his colleagues suggests that strikers as a group commit a relatively small portion- about 11% of the

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The Three Strikes Law

The Three Strike Law