Though it does help or attempt to keep the streets safe, the idea of jailing people for the third offense they commit in their lives and getting caught isn't worth the trouble for the amount of money it costs. Its costs approximately $62,000 to place a man in jail for 12 months. That adds up to a significant amount considering more then four thousand prisoners are in jail for third strikes, and the numbers are still rising. That money that is spent on the prisons could be used for any number of things including schools or other educational activities. This law has to be amended in order to fully operate at the potential that it could. It's a great idea, but still needs some fine-tuning. (Brennan).
There are also other effects from having a third strike law; the more offenders there are, the more criminal justice workloads there is causing loss of time and an increasing number of headaches to those who have to deal with them. There are also a growing number of cases that involve juries due to defendants not pleading guilty. This causes more of the defendants, either awaiting trial or during trial to be held in the county jail. If the law was changed to allow only the more serious crimes the third strike rule and less serious crimes another chance before serious punishment, it would take some of the burden off the people responsible for taking care all the cases, and move along the serious cases. (LAO 2).
For the Three Strike Law to fully take effect, the crimes have to be weighed in a way to allow the more serious situations first. This would push back other crimes that do not pertain to the endangerment of humans such as theft, drugs, and traffic violations. The less serious the crime the slightly more chances there are before the most severe punishment. The more improved the law is the faster cases can be heard and the results can be received in a quicker time saving money from the jail space and fewer headaches for the criminal justice employees.
