    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [January 5, 1997]
    [Pages 4-5]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Decline in Serious Crime
    January 5, 1997

        These new FBI statistics show that for the fifth year in a row,
    serious crime in this country has declined. This is the longest period
    of decline in over 25 years.
        At the beginning of my administration, we set out to change this
    country's approach to crime by putting more officers on our streets
    through community policing and taking guns out of the hands of
    criminals. We are making a difference. Today, our neighborhoods are
    safer, and we are restoring the American people's confidence that crime
    can be reduced.
        But our work is not done. We must continue to move in the right
    direction by adding more police officers, cracking down on gangs, and
    reducing gun and drug violence. That is why I have placed curbing
    juvenile violence at the top of my anticrime agenda for the new year.

    Note: This statement was embargoed for release until 6 p.m.

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