BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 873|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 873
Author: Vasconcellos (D)
Amended: 4/12/99
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/6/99
AYES: Vasconcellos, Johnston, McPherson, Polanco, Rainey
NOT VOTING: Burton
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Study of the "Three Strikes" Law
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : The bill requires a study by the Legislative
Analyst, with assistance from the Judicial Council, the
Attorney General and the University of California, on the
effects and costs of the "Three Strikes" law.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that a defendant, who is
convicted of any current felony, with prior convictions of
two or more "violent" or "serious" felonies, must receive a
life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years.
Existing law further provides that where a defendant is
convicted of any felony with a prior conviction for a
single serious or violent felony, the sentence imposed must
be twice the term otherwise provided as punishment.
Existing law further provides that affected defendants may
CONTINUED
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not receive probation, there is no limitation on the
aggregate term, conduct credits are limited to 20% of the
term (instead of the usual 50%), and any additional
convictions must be imposed consecutively.
Existing law, unlike five year serious felony enhancement
provisions, does not require that prior qualifying
convictions arise in separate cases, and qualifying prior
"strike" convictions need not arise from separate
transactions that can otherwise not be separately punished.
Existing law provides that a juvenile adjudication of a
sixteen-year old must be counted as a prior "strike" if the
offense otherwise qualifies as an adult strike or would
establish presumptive unfitness for juvenile court under
Welfare and Institutions Code Section 707(b), and the minor
was declared to be a ward of juvenile court for commission
of an offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 707(b).
This bill requires a study of the costs and benefits of the
"Three Strikes" law by the Legislative Analyst and report
its findings to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2000.
The Judicial Council, the Attorney General, and the
University of California, upon approval of the Board of
Regents, shall assist the Legislative Analyst in conducting
the study. The report is to examine the costs and benefits
of the "Three Strikes" law in terms of crime reduction and
prevention and would provide a benefit/cost analysis of the
law. It is to also assess the degree to which the law
exacerbates selective law enforcement problems and the cost
of corrective measures. The study shall also assess the
manner in which the "three strikes" law is implemented in
representative urban, rural and mixed urban-rural counties
in California. The study is to utilize existing resources
of the participating agencies.
Current Data from the State Department of Corrections Shows
Who is in Prison under "Three Strikes"
A. Total prison population, March 29, 1999
159,911
Total prison population, March 29, 1998
156,662
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Percentage increase in the last year
2%
B. March 4, 1999 DOC data analysis of "Three Strikes"
prison population:
Total cases under the "Three Strikes" law account for
approximately
30% of prison inmates.
Second "strike" (one prior strike conviction) inmates
total 39,997
Third "strike" (two prior strike convictions) inmates
total 5,043
Total "strike" inmates 45,040
C. Breakdown of "strike" offenses by types of crimes for which
inmates were
sentenced to prison:
"Second Strike" Cases (one prior "serious" felony):
Crimes against Persons 20.0%
Drug Crimes 31.8%
Property Crimes 35.9 %
"Other" Crimes 10.4%
Missing Data 1.9%
"Second Strike" inmates with non-serious/nonviolent
current offenses
are approximately 78%.
"Third Strike" Cases:
Drug Crimes 19.4 %
Property Crimes 31.6 %
Crimes against Persons
40.2%
"Other" Crimes 8.9%
Missing Data 1.2%
"Third Strike" Inmates with nonserious/nonviolent current
offenses are approximately 50%.
D. Specific Crime Comparisons:
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Inmates Serving "Second Strike" (Doubled) Terms:
Simple Possession of
(non-marijuana) Controlled Substances:
8,157
All Sex Crimes 1,237
Robbery (with and without weapons)
3,061
Commercial (non-residential) Burglary
3,287
Residential Burglary 1,978
Murder (first and second degree)
222
Total "Second Strike" Inmates
39,997
Inmates Serving "Third Strike" (Twenty-five Years to
Life) Terms:
Simple Possession of
(non-marijuana) Controlled Substances
498
All Sex Crimes
239
Robbery (with and without weapons)
912
Commercial (non-residential) Burglary
347
Residential Burglary
580
Murder (first and second degree)
161
Total "Third Strike" Inmates:
5,043
Bill Jones, California Secretary of State and Co-Author of
the "Three Strikes" Law: Five-Year Report on the Success
of "Three Strikes "
In a press release dated February 26, 1999, Secretary Jones
asserts that the "Three Strikes" law is responsible for the
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decline in crime in California:
The theory was simple, if we could incarcerate the
small percentage of criminals who commit the vast
majority of crimes, we could effectively lower the
crime rate and save thousands of lives. Five years
later, we have witnessed a reduction in crime that is
greater than even the most optimistic "Three Strikes"
supporters predicted.
Secretary Jones cited State Department of Justice (DOJ)
statistics that overall crime in California is down 38% and
that murder and robbery rates are down by 50%. He
attributes the decline to the "Three Strikes" law.
Secretary Jones further argues that "Three Strikes" has
deterred recidivists:
[I]n 1994, the year that "Three Strikes" was put in
place, more parolees left the state than entered for the
first time since 1976. That trend continues to this day.
Cost of "Three Strikes"
On February 20, 1996, the Senate Committees on Judiciary,
Criminal Procedure, and Budget and Fiscal Review held a
joint informational hearing on "The Impact of 'Three
Strikes' Law on the Civil and Criminal Justice System in
California." Representatives were invited from state and
county correctional systems, judges, city and county
representatives, district attorneys, defense counsel,
police and sheriffs' representatives, and independent penal
and fiscal experts.
At the six-hour hearing, the Committees learned that the
impact of "Three Strikes" has varied widely between
counties, but courts, jails and prosecution and defense
efforts have been impacted in virtually all counties.
The Legislative Analyst's office noted at the hearing that
although more than 90% of all felony cases are disposed of
through plea bargaining in which the defendant ultimately
agrees to plead guilty, many fewer offenders are agreeing
to plead guilty in "Three Strikes" cases, presumably
because of the much longer sentences. This has resulted in
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many more cases going to trial and many more defendants
being held in county jail awaiting or undergoing trial.
The backlog of criminal cases has pushed some misdemeanor
and low-level felony cases out of court, as well as civil
cases in some jurisdictions. The "Three Strikes" law has
limited the ability of public defenders' offices to handle
misdemeanor cases for indigent defendants.
Because of the impact "Three Strikes" cases have on jails,
some counties are no longer booking misdemeanants and are
releasing more sentenced and pre-sentenced "Three Strikes"
offenders from custody. Assaults within the jail systems
have increased, apparently due to the number of "Three
Strikes" cases, where the inmates are facing substantially
longer terms.
Recent data continues to document the cost of the "Three
Strikes" law, particularly in Los Angeles County, which
prosecutes approximately 40% of the "Three Strikes" cases
statewide. Through 1997, the cost of "Three Strikes" cases
to the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office has been
over $80 million, costs to the prosecution totaled
approximately $75 million and costs to the Sheriff were
approximately $140 million. Because of the impact on Los
Angeles County, it has filed a claim with the Commission on
State Mandates for $322 million for the costs of "Three
Strikes" to the county through 1997.
The RAND Corporation reported on the cost of "Three
Strikes" implementation. The first, a 1994 study,
determined that full implementation of "Three Strikes"
could reduce crime by 21% at a cost to the state of an
additional $5.5 billion per year, primarily for prison
operations. RAND researcher, Dr. Peter Greenwood, Ph.D.,
testified at an Assembly Committee on Public Safety hearing
in October 1997 on "Three Strikes and Judicial Discretion"
that approximately 10% of the reduction in crime in
California could be attributed to the "Three Strikes" law.
Another RAND study, Diverting Children From a Life of
Crime: Measuring Costs and Benefits , concludes that a
combination of graduation incentives and parent training
could achieve a similar amount of crime reduction for less
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than $1 billion, or less than 20% of the cost of the "Three
Strikes" program.
Prior Legislation
SB 2048 (Vasconcellos -1997-98 Session) - Vetoed by the
Governor (as study bill). This bill passed the Senate with
a vote of 23-12 (NOES: Brulte, Haynes, Hurtt, Johannessen,
Johnson, Kelley, Knight, McPherson, Monteith, Mountjoy,
Rainey, and Wright).
SB 1317 (Lee - 1997-98 Session) - Failed passage on Senate
Floor with a vote of 13-25.
SB 2089 (Marks - 1995-96 Session) - Failed passage on
Senate Floor.
AB 1444 (Kuehl - 1995-96 Session) - Failed passage in
Assembly Public Safety.
Proposition 184, November 1994 - Enacted
AB 971 (Jones/Costa) - Chapter 12, Statutes of 1994
Veto Message
Then Governor Wilson, in his veto message for SB 2048,
stated:
"This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, in
conjunction with the Judicial Council, the Attorney
General, and the University of California, to conduct a
study evaluating the costs and benefits of the Three
Strikes Law, to be financed out of current resources.
"As introduced, this bill would have weakened the Three
Strikes Law abrogating the intent of the voters, evinced in
their approval of Proposition 184. AB 2048 would provide
that third strike penalties would apply only if the current
offense were a serious or violent felony. This approach,
rejected by the Senate in 1997 when it was proposed in
similar legislation by Senator Lee, was first rejected in
1994. This year, after suffering a third strike, the
prposal was dropped in favor of an unfunded ed study which
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has no purpose but to disprove the obvious.
"In 1993, there were 4,089 homicides in California. In
1994, I signed, and the voters independently approved
"Three Strikes". Simultaneously, crime rates started a
precipitous decline now in its 5th year. In 1997, there
were 2,578 homicides in California. This decline of over
1,500 annual homicides in just part of the story. Violent
crimes in California has reached its lowest level in over
30 years (prior to 1966). Nonetheless, all categories of
crime continue to plummet. Murder is down over 22% in the
first half of 1988, the largest drop in history. Studies
have already been conducted, and while none could
accurately access the value of human lives saved, one of
two reports by the Rand Corporation projected a 21%
reduction in crime attributable to implementation of "Three
Strikes".
"There are many mysteries in life, the efficiency of "Three
Strikes" however, is not one of them."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/28/98)
American Civil Liberties Union
California public Defenders Association
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California NORML
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Families to Amend California's Three Strikes
RJG:cm 4/28/99 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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