[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 20 (Monday, May 24, 1999)]
[Pages 921-922]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on National Crime Statistics

May 16, 1999

    Today the FBI released preliminary data showing that crime fell 
another 7 percent in 1998, with an 8 percent decline in murder and an 11 
percent decline in robbery. Crime is now down for a remarkable seventh 
year in a row. More community police on our streets and fewer guns in 
the hands of criminals have helped make our communities the safest they 
have been in a generation.
    But tragic events like the Littleton shooting remind us that our 
work is far from done. We in Washington have a responsibility to support 
law enforcement officers and pass commonsense gun legislation. We should 
start by closing the gun show loophole that allows criminals and 
juveniles to buy guns

[[Page 922]]

at gun shows without so much as a background check. In this way, we can 
keep the crime rates coming down.

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