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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Impacts Of ‘Three Strikes And You’Re Out’ On Crime Trends In California And Throughout The United States, Elsa Y. Chen
Impacts Of ‘Three Strikes And You’Re Out’ On Crime Trends In California And Throughout The United States, Elsa Y. Chen
Political Science
The impacts of Three Strikes on crime in California and throughout the U.S. are analyzed using cross-sectional time series analysis of state-level data from 1986 to 2005. The model measures both deterrence and incapacitation effects, controlling for pre-existing crime trends and economic, demographic, and policy factors. Despite limited usage outside California, the presence of a Three Strikes law appears to be associated with slightly but significantly faster rates of decline in robbery, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft nationwide. Three Strikes is also associated with slower declines in murder rates. Although California’s law is the broadest and most-frequently-used Three Strikes …
The Liberation Hypothesis And Racial And Ethnic Disparities In The Application Of California’S Three Strikes Law, Elsa Y. Chen
The Liberation Hypothesis And Racial And Ethnic Disparities In The Application Of California’S Three Strikes Law, Elsa Y. Chen
Political Science
This paper examines the extent to which racial and ethnic disparities exist in the implementation of California's “Three Strikes and You're Out” law and whether racial and ethnic disparities vary by type of offense. Logistic regression analysis of individual-level data on over 171,000 California prison inmates indicates that African-Americans are more likely than whites and Latinos to receive third-strike sentences, even when legally relevant variables are controlled. The analysis also finds that Latino defendants are significantly less likely to receive third-strike sentences. The results also indicate that the black-white gap is greater for offenses known as “wobblers,” which can be …