[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 48 (Monday, December 1, 1997)]
[Page 1911]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Effectiveness of Anticrime Measures

November 23, 1997

    Crime rates continue to fall dramatically throughout the country, 
and it's no accident. With community police at the center of our 
efforts, we have worked to give communities the tools they need to rid 
their neighborhoods of gangs, guns, and drugs. We have made real 
progress: There are nearly 5,000 fewer murders annually in America today 
than in 1993.
    Now, we need to take juvenile crime head on. The spending bill I 
will sign next week includes more than $100 million to hire scores of 
local prosecutors, probation officers, and others to crack down on 
gangs. With these provisions, coupled with new after-school programs and 
a $195 million anti-drug media campaign, we can begin to pursue a 
strategy that works to keep all of our youth on track.

Note: This statement was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on November 23, but it was embargoed for release until 6 p.m.