[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 89 (Wednesday, July 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7696-S7697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CRIME VICTIMS WITH DISABILITIES

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues 
Senator DeWine and Senator Leahy in sponsoring the Crime Victims with 
Disabilities Awareness Act. This legislation will help us better 
understand and prevent crimes against Americans with disabilities.
  Mr. President, Americans with disabilities are four to ten times as 
likely as other Americans to be the victims of crimes. That means that 
54 million Americans are at increased risk of victimization because 
they suffer from one or more disabilities.
  We have long known that criminals are opportunists, and that they 
target the weakest members of society for exploitation. As a result we 
have initiated programs to heighten public awareness of crime against 
women, children, and the elderly. Americans with developmental 
disabilities deserve the same consideration.
  Many disabled Americans have been the victims of crime, Mr. 
President. Indeed, many of these Americans have been repeat victims 
because their condition renders them less likely to report incidents to 
the proper authorities.
  If some Americans are unsafe from crime, Mr. President, all Americans 
are unsafe. Criminals who prey on the disabled are not only showing 
their lack of morality and victimizing a particularly vulnerable 
segment of our society, they are degrading our entire nation. To the 
extent they are allowed to continue their criminal activities they 
endanger all Americans.
  That is why this legislation is so important. It will direct the 
Attorney General, in conjunction with the National Research Council, to 
develop a

[[Page S7697]]

research program to help us better understand and prevent crimes 
against the disabled. It also directs the Attorney General to include 
in the annual National Crime Victims Survey statistics regarding crimes 
against victims with developmental disabilities.
  These measures, Mr. President, will help us to heighten awareness of 
crime against the disabled and help us put a stop to it. It will help 
us to make our streets and our homes safer for all Americans by 
protecting the most vulnerable among us.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

                          ____________________