The Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

sentencing was considered so significant that President Bill Clinton interrupted a
vacation to make a press statement about it.
Another example of the three-strikes law involves Timothy L. Tyler who, in 1992 at age
24, was sentenced to life in prison without parole when his third conviction (a federal
offense) triggered the federal three-strikes law, even though his two prior convictions
were not considered violent, and neither conviction resulted in any prison time served.
United States
Effects
Some states, such as California, have seen dramatic drops in their crime rates since the
enactment of the Three- Strikes Law. In 2011, Los Angeles, California reported that
crime had decreased by half of the current amount since 1994, which is the same year
the Three- Strikes Law was put into place. Although this decrease in crime might be
attributed to the enactment of stricter sentences, Los Angeles officials speculate the
drop in crime might also be related to better relationships within the community and
better crime-predicting tools.
In 2004, The Effect of Three- Strikes Legislation on Serious Crime in California study
analyzed the effect of the Three- Strikes legislation as a means of deterrence
and incapacitation. The study found that the Three- Strikes Law did not have a very
significant effect on deterrence of crime, but also that this ineffectiveness may be due to
the diminishing marginal returns associated with having pre-existing repeat offender
laws in place.
A study, Does Three Strikes Deter? A Non-Parametric Estimation, published by
researchers at George Mason University found that arrest rates in California were up to
20% lower for the group of offenders convicted of two-strike eligible offenses, compared
to those convicted of one-strike eligible offenses. The study concluded that the threestrikes
policy was deterring recidivists from committing crimes. California has seen a
reduction in criminal activity "Stolzenberg and D’Alessio found that serious crime in
California’s 10 largest cities collectively had dropped 15% during the 3-year postintervention
period"
A study written by Robert Parker, director of the Presley Center for Crime and Justice
Studies at UC Riverside, states that, violent crime began falling almost two years before
California's three-strikes law was enacted in 1994. The study argues that the decrease
in crime is linked to lower alcohol consumption and unemployment.
A 2007 study from the Vera Institute of Justice in New York examined the effectiveness
of incapacitation under all forms of sentencing. The study estimated that if US
incarceration rates were increased by 10 percent, the crime rate would decrease by at
least 2%. However, this action would be extremely costly to implement.
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