[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                    GETTING TOUGH ON JUVENILE CRIME

  (Mr. BLAGOJEVICH asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLAGOJEVICH. In America, Mr. Speaker, more violent crime is 
committed by juveniles ages 15 to 19 than in any other age group. If 
present trends continue, juvenile arrests for violent crime will more 
than double by the year 2010. Under the juvenile crime control bill, 
which creates a $1.5 billion grant, only 12 States would qualify to 
receive the Federal funds necessary to fight juvenile crime.
  In the United States of America, Mr. Speaker, four cities, in four 
cities one-third of all juvenile crimes occur: in Los Angeles, New 
York, Chicago, and in Detroit. Yet under this juvenile crime bill, Mr. 
Speaker, grant money would not find its way into the neighborhoods of 
Chicago, the barrios of Los Angeles, or in downtown Detroit. It could, 
however, find its way in Jackson Hole, WY, and in Stowe, VT.
  Mr. Speaker, major cities in fact will lose money under this 
legislation. The local law enforcement block grant which provided $18 
million to the city of Chicago could be lost under this legislation. 
The city credits this program for a 18-percent decrease in homicides, a 
19 percent decrease in robberies, and a 24-percent decrease in 
narcotics.
  Mr. Speaker, we need the resources to fight crime at the local level. 
Those resources ought to be in those areas where crimes occur.

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