[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12025-S12026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S12025]]
                     SAFE AND SOUND COMMUNITIES ACT

 Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise to outline my proposal for 
reducing juvenile crime--the ``Safe and Sound Communities Act,'' which 
I will make available as a discussion draft today. In the past few 
years, we have begun to make real advances in fighting juvenile crime. 
And in cities across the country, juvenile crime has started to fall. 
For example, after Boston implemented a city-wide anti-crime plan, the 
number of juveniles murdered declined 80 percent, and in more than two 
years not a single child was killed by a gun. Not one child. And in 
three ``Weed & Seed'' neighborhoods in Milwaukee, violent felonies 
dropped 46 percent, gun crimes fell 46 percent, and crime overall was 
down 21 percent. Now we need to build on what works, in order to 
protect our children and to make our communities ``safe and sound.'' 
This measure will be an important step in the right direction.
  Indeed, we do not have to reinvent the wheel to reduce juvenile 
crime. The lesson from Boston, Milwaukee and other cities is clear. 
There is no one magic solution. But a number of steps, taken together, 
can and will make a difference: put dangerous criminals behind bars; 
keep guns out of the hands of juveniles; and give children after-school 
alternatives to gangs and drugs. That's what works in Boston and 
Milwaukee and the rest of America. And that's what this proposal is all 
about. It builds on each of these three basic strategies and expands 
them to more cities and more rural communities across the nation. Let 
me explain.


                  Put Dangerous Criminals Behind Bars

  First, this proposal makes it easier to lock up dangerous juveniles. 
We can't even begin to stop violent kids unless we have police officers 
on the street to catch them, and state and local prosecutors to try 
them. So this measure extends the highly successful COPS program, which 
is due to expire in two years, through the year 2003. And it provides 
$100 million per year for state and local prosecutors to go after 
juvenile criminals.
  Of course, we can't keep criminals off the streets unless we have a 
place to send them. Unfortunately, although we provide states with 
hundreds of millions of dollars each year to build new prisons, most 
states use all of these funds for adult prisons only. So this measure 
requires states to set aside 10 percent of federal prison funding to 
juvenile prisons or alternative placements of delinquent children. This 
commitment is consistent with the Senate-passed 1994 crime bill, which 
set the stage for spending billions of dollars on prisons through the 
1994 Crime Act.
  This proposal also helps rural communities keep dangerous kids behind 
bars. Now, although the closest juvenile facility may be hundreds of 
miles away, federal law prohibits rural police from locking up 
juveniles in adult jails for more than 24 hours. This means that state 
law enforcement officials either have to waste the time and resources 
to criss-cross the state even for initial court appearances, or simply 
let dangerous teens go free. In my view, that's a no-win situation. 
This measure gives rural police the flexibility they need by letting 
them detain juveniles in adult jails for up to 72 hours.
  And this measure will help lock up violent gun-toting kids--and the 
people who illegally supply them with weapons. It builds on my 1994 
Youth Handgun Safety Act by turning illegal possession of a handgun by 
a minor into a felony. And the same goes for anyone who illegally sells 
handguns to kids. Kids and handguns don't mix, and our law needs to 
make clear that this is a serious crime.


                 Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Children

  Second, this proposal will help keep firearms out of the hands of 
young people. It promotes gun safety by requiring the sale of child 
safety locks with every new handgun. Child safety locks can help save 
many of the 500 children and teenagers killed each year in firearms 
accidents, and the 1,500 kids each year who use guns to commit suicide. 
Just as importantly, they can help prevent some of the 7,000 violent 
juvenile crimes committed every year with guns children took from their 
own homes.
  It also helps identify who is supplying kids with guns, so we can put 
them out of business and behind bars. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco 
and Firearms has been working closely with cities like Milwaukee and 
Boston to trace guns used by young people back to the source. Using 
ATF's national database, police and prosecutors can target illegal 
suppliers of firearms and help stop the flow of firearms into our 
communities. This measure will expand the program to other cities and, 
with the increased penalties outlined above, it will help cut down 
illegal gun trafficking.
  In addition, this measure closes a loophole that allows violent young 
offenders to buy guns legally when they turn 18. Under current law, 
violent adult offenders can't buy firearms, but violent juveniles can--
even the kids convicted of the schoolyard killings in Jonesboro, 
Arkansas--at least once they are released at age 18. This has to stop. 
So this measure declares that all violent felons are disqualified from 
buying firearms, regardless of whether they were 14 or 24, or a day 
short of their 18th or 28th birthday, at the time of their offense.


   Crime Prevention and After-School Alternatives to Gangs and Drugs

  Third, a balanced approach also requires a significant investment in 
crime prevention, so we can stop crime before it's too late. Even law 
enforcement officials agree that we need a bigger investment in 
prevention. For example, more than 400 police chiefs, sheriffs and 
prosecutors nationwide have endorsed a call for after-school programs 
for all children. And in my home state of Wisconsin, 90 percent of 
police chiefs and sheriffs surveyed agreed that we need to increase 
federal prevention spending.
  This proposal promotes prevention by concentrating funding in 
programs that already have a record of success, like Weed & Seed, and 
those that rely on proven strategies, like programs that give children 
a safe place to go in the after-school hours between 3 and 8 p.m., when 
juvenile crime peaks.
  For example, it expands the Weed & Seed program, a Republican program 
which combines aggressive enforcement and safe havens for at-risk kids. 
The measure also gives more schools the resources necessary to stay 
open after school, through expansion of the 21st Century Learning 
Center program. It promotes innovative locally-tailored prevention 
initiatives by reauthorizing and expanding the Title V At-Risk Children 
Challenge Grant program, which I authored. It builds on our support for 
the valuable work of Boys & Girls Clubs, by extending that program and 
expanding it to support other successful organizations like the YMCA. 
And it requires that at least 20 percent of the new juvenile crime 
funds--namely the recently-initiated $500 million juvenile 
accountability block grant--be dedicated to prevention.
  Of course, we shouldn't blindly invest in prevention programs, just 
because they sound good. Quality, not quantity, matters. That's why my 
measure cuts $1.6 billion in prevention programs authorized by the 
Crime Act--so we don't waste money on redundant programs which don't 
have records of success or bipartisan support. And that's why my 
measure requires five to ten percent of all prevention funds to be set 
aside for rigorous evaluations--so we can keep funding the programs 
that work, and eliminate the programs that don't. We also reward cities 
that adopt comprehensive anti-juvenile crime strategies, like Boston's 
and Milwaukee's--so prevention is part of a balanced, coordinated 
overall plan.
  This combination of tough enforcement, reducing youth access to guns, 
and effective prevention will help stem juvenile crime. In addition, 
several other necessary reforms in this proposal will make a 
difference. It strongly encourages states to share the records of 
violent juvenile offenders, and provides the funding necessary for 
improved record-keeping. The fact is that law enforcement officials 
need full disclosure in order to make informed judgments about how to 
treat--and whether to incarcerate--a child.
  The measure also addresses the dangerous problem of school violence. 
It increases school security by encouraging states to use COPS funding 
to place police officers on school grounds. It encourages the 
development of initiatives to prevent school violence. And because 
understanding the problem is essential to any comprehensive solution,

[[Page S12026]]

it requires better reporting of firearms-related incidents in public 
schools. Unfortunately, many states do not report guns seized on school 
grounds.
  Mr. President, the question about how to reduce juvenile crime is no 
longer a mystery. We have a good idea about what works. The real 
question is this: When will we act? As the chances for a juvenile crime 
bill this year look increasingly slim, I recommend this framework as a 
good starting point for next year. Let's build on what works so we can 
make our communities safer and sounder places to live. I ask unanimous 
consent that a summary of this proposal be printed in the Record.
  The summary follows:

       Summary of Sen. Herb Kohl's Safe and Sound Communities Act


 Title I: Increased Placement of Juveniles in Appropriate Correctional 
                               Facilities

       States must dedicate 10 percent of all prison funding from 
     the 1994 Crime Act to juvenile facilities or alternative 
     placements for delinquent juveniles. Expands ability to 
     detain juveniles temporarily in rural adult jails by 
     permitting detention for up to 72 hours and ending 
     requirement of separate staff to oversee juveniles and 
     adults.


              Title II: Reducing Youth Access to Firearms

       Limits access of juveniles and juvenile offenders to 
     firearms. Requires the sale of child safety locks with all 
     handguns. Expands Department of the Treasury's youth crime 
     gun tracing program to identify more illegal gun traffickers 
     who are supplying guns to children. Increases jail time for 
     individuals who transfer handguns to juveniles and for 
     juveniles who illegally possess handguns. Prohibits the sale 
     of firearms to violent juvenile offenders after they become 
     eighteen years old.


            Title III: Consolidation of Prevention Programs

       Repeals over $1.6 billion in authorized prevention programs 
     from the 1994 Crime Act. Expands Weed & Seed to $200 million 
     per year (from $33.5 million in 1998), the Title V At-Risk 
     Children Challenge Grants to $200 million per year (from $20 
     million), and the 21st Century Learning Centers to $200 
     million per year (from $40 million), and extends Boys & Girls 
     Club funding for five more years, increasing funding to $75 
     million per year (from $20 million) and expanding the program 
     to support other successful community organizations like the 
     YMCA. Consolidates several gang prevention programs into one 
     $25 million program. Rewards cities that adopt a 
     comprehensive anti-juvenile crime strategy based on the 
     Boston model. Sets aside five to ten percent of prevention 
     funding for evaluation, implementing the proposal of the DOJ-
     sponsored University of Maryland report.


    Title IV: Juvenile Crime Control and Accountability Block Grant

       Promotes funding for prosecutors, improved-record keeping, 
     juvenile prisons, and prevention through $500 million block 
     grant. Qualifying states must trace all firearms recovered 
     from individuals under age 21 to identify illegal firearm 
     traffickers, and must share criminal records of all juvenile 
     violent offenders with other jurisdictions. $100 million of 
     this grant program must be dedicated to both prevention and 
     to hiring more prosecutors.


                  Title V--School Violence Prevention

       Expands role of police officers on school campuses through 
     COPS program. Encourages better reporting of incidents of 
     firearms violence in schools, including gun tracing to 
     identify suppliers of firearms recovered on school property. 
     Complements expansion of school violence prevention programs 
     in Title IV block grant.


       Title VI--Extension of COPS and Juvenile Justice programs

       Extends program to hire new community police officers. 
     Reauthorizes Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
     Prevention.


       Title VII--Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund

       Extends trust fund established by 1994 Crime Act to pay for 
     anti-crime programs with savings from reduction of federal 
     workforce.

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