How crime and the politics of crime rise and fall in California

From the late 1970s to the 2000s, crime was a dominant political issue in California, driven by high-profile cases like the 1993 kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas. Anti-crime legislation such as the three strikes measure and prison expansion under Republican governors like George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson reflected public demand for stricter criminal justice policies, while crime rates peaked in the 1980s and 1990s before declining significantly by 2025.