Evaluate the impact of three-strikes laws on jails and prisons - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 25 April Impact of Three-Strike Laws on Jails and Prisons The primary objective of the three-strike law was to protect the common citizens from incorrigible and repeat offenders. The three-strike laws strived to achieve this objective through the ascription of mandatory minimal prison terms for the repeat offenders who had an earlier history of engaging in felony. The purpose was to target the repeat offenders and to keep them behind bars so as to curtail their capacity for perpetrating crime.

However, the provisions of the three-strike law had a significant impact on the prisons and local jails. The strike-strike laws led to a significant increase in the prison populations. The provisions enshrined in the three-strike laws have resulted in a considerable increase in the prison populations in the states that have adhered to these laws (Jacobson 217). Not only the prisoners penalized under the three-strike provisions constitute a major chunk of the prison populations, these laws have also assured that even those accused who are guilty of repeatedly engaging in serious crimes of non-violent nature do tend to serve prolonged prison sentences.

For instance, in the year 2004 alone, the prisoners serving sentences affiliated to the three-strike laws constituted almost twenty six percent of California’s prison population (Jacobson 217). The three-strike laws also had an impact on the length of time that the prisoners tended to spend in the prisons and jails. Going by the fact that the three-strike laws tend to enhance the prison terms of the repeat offenders, this has resulted in an increase in the average time that the prisoners happened to stay in the prisons (Jacobson 2118).

The actual ramifications of the three-strike laws have also led to an increase in the average age of the prison populations. As the prisoners serving sentences as per the three-strike laws happen to stay longer in prisons, this has expanded the average age of the inmates (Redburn & McNamara 217). Thereby, going by the three-strike laws, one could certainly expect older and aging prison populations in the times to come. The other thing is that the racial minorities, especially the African-Americans and the Hispanics tend to constitute the largest groups of prisoners serving sentences under the three-strike laws (Russell-Brown 16).

There is no denying the fact that the three-strike laws had serious financial implications for the prisons and jails. With the prisoners serving longer sentences and the consequent increase in the prison populations, the prisons and jails are becoming financially more unwieldy, going by the soaring costs of running the prisons and jails (Greenwood xii). The other thing is that with the older and aging prison populations, a direct outcome of the three-strike laws, the prisons are required to spend more money on the health and maintenance of the prisoners.

Since more criminal cases tend to qualify for a trial, going by the three-strike laws, the number of pre-trial prisoners in the local jails has also increased. Thereby, the three-strike laws have certainly led to a marked change in the population, demography and budgets of the prisons and jails. Works CitedGreenwood, Peter W. Three Strikes and You’re out. Santa Monica, CA: Greenwood, 2002. Print. Jacobson, Michael. Downsizing Prisons. New York: New York University Press, 2005. Print.Redburn, David E, and Robert P McNamara.

Social Gerontology. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 2002. Print. Russell-Brown, Katheryn. Underground Codes. New York: New York University Press, 2004. Print.