The growth in the number of parolees leaving California is staggering considering the Legislature passed a law in 1995 to deny parolees the ability to leave the state until all restitution and restitution fines are paid.39
Savings to the State
While repeated warnings were issued from �Three Strikes� opponents about the cost to implement the new law, few have addressed the other side of the equation and the savings to the state. In measuring the savings for the state, we must measure how many fewer crimes have been committed since the implementation of �Three Strikes.�
If the 1993 crime rate had continued unabated by �Three Strikes� and other tough-on-crime measures, the effect on California would be costly - both in lives and dollars. The following chart shows the differential between the number of crimes committed each year and the number of crimes that would have been committed if the crime rate did not drop.40 Fewer crimes committed each year since the passage of �Three Strikes�
| Year | Murder | Rape | Robbery | Assault | Burglary | Vehicle Theft |
| | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 447 | 932 | 15,768 | 4,205 | 34,434 | 14,929 | | | 70,715 |
| 1995 | 606 | 1,313 | 23,030 | 9,536 | 64,028 | 42,141 | | | 140,654 |
| 1996 | 1,267 | 1,744 | 34,747 | 30,438 | 110,237 | 83,480 | | | 261,913 |
| 1997 | 1,708 | 2,079 | 50,776 | 38,631 | 137,672 | 110,081 | | | 340,229 |
| ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ | | | ------ |
| Total | 4,028 | 6,068 | 124,321 | 82,810 | 346,731 | 250,631 | | | 814,229 |
Had our 1993 crime rate continued unabated over these past four years, nearly
39California Penal Code Section 11177.2.
401997 crime rate is based on an estimate of the Preliminary Report Crime 1997 January Through December and July, 1997 population estimates by the Department of Finance Demographics Unit.
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