[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 207 (Friday, December 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S19271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CRIME IS DOWN BUT DRUGS ARE UP: SOLUTIONS ARE NO MYSTERY

  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, the crime news is good and bad.
  The good news is that murders in the United States were down 12 
percent for the first 6 months of 1995, and the FBI reports an 
astounding and welcome drop.
  The bad news is that drug and alcohol use among our Nation's eighth 
graders is on the rise, and because of that, as they grow older the 
crime rate probably will rise again.
  Adding to this likelihood are the numbers. There are more eighth 
graders than their counterparts 4 years older, and as the numbers grow, 
we will probably have more, not less, bad news. Ten years from now 
there will be 25 percent more young males between the ages of 14 and 
17.
  What can be done?
  There are no magic bullets, but there are some things that will help. 
They include:
  Get treatment and counseling for adult drug and alcohol addicts.
  Children of addicts are much more likely to be addicts. Illinois is 
like most States: people who want help often cannot get it. Considering 
the extent of our problem, we are woefully short on treatment 
facilities. Rev. George Clements, a quietly dynamic Roman Catholic 
priest, has suggested that all churches and synagogues and mosques 
should adopt one addict. That's not as easy as fixing the church roof 
or serving as usher or singing in the choir. But it is a greater test 
of the meaningfulness of faith. The most effective way to reach 
children is through a parent.
  Discourage youthful cigarette smoking.
  Young people who smoke cigarettes are much more likely to take up 
drugs and alcohol.
  Enrich education programs so that they reach all young people.
  Those who have great difficulty in school are more likely to give up, 
to see little future for themselves and reach out for the escape 
mechanism of drugs or alcohol. That is why budget cuts that reduce 
access to Head Start and other education programs are short-sighted. By 
the second grade--at the latest--teachers know which students need 
special help. They should receive it then, not wait until they make it 
through high school--if they make it through high school.

  Start jobs programs that put people of limited skills to work. Show 
me an area of high unemployment, and I will show you an area of high 
crime, whether it is African-American, Hispanic, or white. Show me an 
area of high unemployment, and I will show you an area with a high drug 
use rate and high alcoholism, whether it is African-American, Hispanic, 
or white.
  Real welfare reform must include jobs. Without a jobs factor, 
anything called welfare reform is political public relations. We need 
something like the WPA of a half-century ago. It would be the most 
effective anti-crime and anti-addition program we could have.
  Keep parents from giving up.
  That's not a Government program, but it is vital. A parent living in 
a tough neighborhood with drug sales visible in the area has a 
difficult time, but must strive to give her--or his--child hope. And do 
simple things like encouraging homework, use of the library, and 
careful use of television.
  And attending religious services.
  Harvard University's Richard Freeman found that ``among black urban 
youth, church attendance was a better predictor of who would escape 
drugs, crime and poverty than any other variable, income, family 
structure, and the church-going youth were more likely to behave in 
socially constructive ways.''
  Yes, there are some discouraging signals for the future, but if we 
are really concerned, and then act, the future will be brighter.
  None of these items I have listed is dramatic, yet if we were to act 
on all of them, there would be a significant change for the better in 
our future.

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