Author(s): Sarah Litman

Presentation: oral

In 1994, California passed its Three Strikes policy, designed to reduce the crime rate by keeping habitual criminals in jail for extensive periods of time. Although popular when introduced, the policy was ineffective in California and several amendments subsequently have been made. Do Americans realize that it failed, or does the punitive reasoning behind it remain compelling? I created a survey to determine Americans' thoughts and opinions on crime policies, and whether these are impacted by other sociodemographic characteristics. I found that, despite some criticisms, there is considerable support for policies like the Three Strikes law, even among groups not typically associated with tough-on-crime policies. Evaluation of the Three Strikes law, based on existing literature, follows the survey results. Overall, this study demonstrates a disconnect between (a) Americans' punitive inclinations with respect to criminal justice policies and (b) empirical evidence on what actually works.

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