[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 74 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19021-19022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10135]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 1997 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 19021]]


                Proclamation 6989 of April 15, 1997

                
National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 1997

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Crime Victims' Rights Week, Americans 
                in communities across the country join together to 
                honor victims and survivors, to remember their pain, 
                and to recognize their many contributions to improving 
                our criminal justice system and helping others affected 
                by crime. It is also an occasion for us to acknowledge 
                our significant progress in securing crucial rights and 
                services for crime victims.

                As we reflect on the events of this past year, we think 
                of all our fellow citizens who became victims of crime 
                on our streets, at home, in our neighborhoods, in our 
                schools, in our workplaces, and even in our sacred 
                places of worship. We remember the images of dozens of 
                mostly African American churches being consumed in 
                flames, and we recall church leaders and their 
                congregations, representing all denominations and 
                races, reaching out to invite healing and rebuilding--
                not in isolation, but in an extraordinary spirit of 
                community and unity. We also remember the many 
                contributions of crime victims in pioneering crime 
                prevention programs in our schools and working to 
                strengthen our laws and to enlighten all of us about 
                the needs of all crime victims.

                Through the dedicated efforts of crime victims and 
                their advocates, criminal justice workers, and 
                responsive legislators, we have made important strides 
                in the struggle against violence. The Violent Crime 
                Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 allocated an 
                increase in resources for criminal justice programs, 
                deploying thousands of new police officers on our 
                streets. The Brady Bill has prevented over 225,000 
                felons, fugitives, and stalkers from buying handguns 
                since it was enacted. And the Community Notification 
                Act, known as ``Megan's Law,'' is helping us protect 
                our most vulnerable citizens by informing communities 
                of the presence of convicted pedophiles. With community 
                notification, we are working to prevent cases like that 
                of the Act's namesake, Megan Kanka, a 7 year-old who 
                died at the hands of a repeat sex offender released 
                into an unsuspecting community. With these and other 
                preventive measures, we've managed to reduce the rate 
                of violent crime for 5 straight years and to restore 
                hope of reaching our goal of a peaceful America.

                We can also take heart in our efforts to assist victims 
                in need of justice and healing in the aftermath of 
                violent crimes. The Violence Against Women Act, a 
                historic and comprehensive plan targeted at ending 
                crimes against women, has provided much-needed services 
                to countless domestic violence victims and their 
                children. Likewise, the National Domestic Violence 
                Hotline, established last year, has responded to more 
                than 73,000 calls for assistance from around the 
                country. As a result of over $500 million in deposits 
                to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in fiscal 1996, the 
                States will receive more than three times as much in 
                Federal funds as they have received in any previous 
                year to support local victim assistance programs. And 
                the Antiterrorism Act has guaranteed restitution to 
                victims of Federal crimes and mass violence; it has 
                already provided substantial assistance to victims of 
                the Oklahoma City bombing.

[[Page 19022]]

                This year, we can take one more historic step to ensure 
                that victims throughout our country are guaranteed the 
                fundamental rights to be present at proceedings, to be 
                informed of significant developments in their cases and 
                of their rights, and to be heard at sentencing and 
                other appropriate times throughout the criminal justice 
                process. The Congress should pass a Victims' Rights 
                Amendment to the United States Constitution that will, 
                when ratified by the States, ensure that crime victims 
                are at the center of the criminal justice process, not 
                on the outside looking in.

                We must stand united in caring for and assisting crime 
                victims throughout our country.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 13 through April 19, 
                1997, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I urge 
                all Americans to follow in the example of victim 
                advocates and reaffirm our common purpose to protect 
                and comfort one another in times of hardship--not only 
                during this special week but also throughout the year.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 97-10135
Filed 4-16-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P