Crime bill

“ But every major law enforcement organization in America fought hard for the crime bill, and so did I, because it puts Government firmly on the side of the people who abide by the law, not the criminals who break it. ”

“ Unless we do something about crime, we can't be really free in this country, we can't exercise the opportunities that are there for us, and our children can't inherit the American dream.
Now, our administration and the Congress must do our job on crime so that the American people can do their job in the communities where they live. We have waited 5 long years, through partisan and political gridlock, for a crime bill that will address the growing crisis. ”

“ I challenge every State to match Federal policy to assure that serious violent criminals serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.
More police and punishment are important, but they're not enough. We have got to keep more of our young people out of trouble, with prevention strategies not dictated by Washington but developed in communities. I challenge all of our communities, all of our adults, to give our children futures to say yes to. And I challenge Congress not to abandon the crime bill's support of these grassroots prevention efforts. ”

“ This crime bill will help. All the major elements of the bill have been endorsed by the United States Conference of Mayors, by every major law enforcement organization in the country, including the Law Enforcement Steering Committee, with over half a million police officers in its membership, and by countless local police chiefs, sheriffs, community leaders, elected officials.
Join them. Together, the American people will be a mighty coalition with a simple but essential demand: Congress, pass the crime bill and pass it now. ”

“ Parents should not be afraid to let their children walk to school alone. Children should never hesitate to play in neighborhood playgrounds. No longer should innocent Americans of all ages find their lives forever changed by crime. Americans have endured enough.
Our Nation made a major leap forward in the effort to find lasting solutions when I signed into law the long-awaited crime bill-the toughest, smartest Federal attack on crime in our history. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act is the first major Federal anti-crime legislation enacted in 6 years. ”

“ Later this morning, as Anthony Stokes' family buries him, House and Senate negotiators will meet to finish work on the crime bill. Soon after, each Member of the House of Representatives will face a simple choice, to pass the toughest attack on crime in history or to block it one more time. We must not walk away from the American people in the fight against crime. ”

“ Next week I'll sign into law the historic crime bill that will be a tough but smart tool in every community's fight for our children's safety. It'll punish hardened young criminals with stronger penalties, and it will expand boot camps, drug courts, and other sanctions to stop first-time offenders from beginning lives of crime. ”

“ The crime bill offers this pledge: From now on, our Government will do everything we can to make sure that people who commit crimes get caught, that those who are guilty are convicted, that those who are convicted serve their times, that those who can be saved from a life of crime are found when they're young and given a chance to do better. ”

“ I call this bill infamous, because by it the man or woman who is charged with being a slave is deprived of all the means of self-defence allowed to those who are charged with crimes, and to be delivered up summarily, without the right of trial by jury, or any other proper means of proving the charge groundless. Is it a worse crime to be a slave than a thief or a murderer? ”

“ What says our bill of rights?—"that excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Are you not, therefore, now calling on those gentlemen who are to compose Congress, to prescribe trials and define punishments without this control? Will they find sentiments there similar to this bill of rights? You let them loose; you do more—you depart from the genius of your country. That paper tells you that the trial of crimes shall be by jury, and held in the state where the crime shall have been committed. ”

“ I did it because one of the jobs of the Federal Government is to enhance our security at home and because crime and violence is a problem all over America, in communities small and large.
Well, we're keeping that promise. Last year's crime bill reduces the Federal bureaucracy and takes all the money and gives it to our communities to fight crime. It provides explicitly for 100,000 new police officers. Just since the 4 months since the crime bill took effect, police departments in America have been able to hire over 16,000 police officers. ”

“ The crime bill answers the call of police officers everywhere to do more to prevent crime from happening in the first place. It will help to steer young people away from gangs and drugs by helping them learn right from wrong and giving them something to say yes to as well as something to say no to. ”

“ With courage and determination, crime victims and their dedicated advocates have succeeded in winning constitutional amendments in 29 States that guarantee such fundamental rights as protection from further harm, which includes keeping victims and accused criminals in separate rooms during court proceedings; the right of victims to call upon law enforcement if they feel they are being harassed or intimidated in connection with a pending case ”

“ A tourist in Florida is nearly burned alive by bigots simply because he is black. Right here in our Nation's Capital, a brave young man named Jason White, a policeman, the son and grandson of policemen, is ruthlessly gunned down. Violent crime and the fear it provokes are crippling our society, limiting personal freedom, and fraying the ties that bind us.
The crime bill before Congress gives you a chance to do something about it, a chance to be tough and smart. ”

“ That the bill will, indeed, be effectual to the purposes designed, that it will crowd the courts of justice with evidence, and open scenes of wickedness never discovered before, I can readily believe; for I cannot imagine that any man who has exposed his life by any flagrant crime, will miss so fair an opportunity of saving it by another. I shall expect, my lords, that villains of all denominations, who are now skulking in private retreats, who are eluding the officers of justice, or flying before the publick pursuit of the country, will secure themselves by this easy expedient ”

“ During National Crime Victims' Rights Week, we call to mind those whose lives have been so abruptly and often violently changed. This annual observance is also a powerful reminder of the extraordinary capacity of our citizens to face adversity and overcome it. Across America, victims of crime have refused to become victims of a criminal justice system that too often ignores or compromises their rights while protecting the rights of criminals. ”

“ With the triumph of democratic governments and judiciaries around the world, it seems particularly disturbing that our own legal system is tested daily by the epidemic of crime and violence here at home. ”

“ In Los Angeles, teachers and sheriffs are working in teams to show kids alternative methods of resolving conflicts, encouraging them to develop a sense of self-worth apart from gangs. The 1994 crime bill seeks to provide grassroots programs like these the resources they need to push forward in their efforts and to succeed in their fight. ”

“ Have those men hearts to feel or consciences to be smitten?—if so, what must their sufferings be at the record of each successive murder, which adds another victim to those already sacrificed by their fatal and unprincipled policy.
While those provisions of the proposed law, to which we have already alluded, are utterly inefficient and valueless for the repression of crime, there is another clause in the bill which inflicts a positive and unmerited injustice. The proclaimed district is to pay the expense of the additional police force, necessary for its pacification. ”

“ Through such landmark legislation as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994-which included the Violence Against Women Act, the Brady Bill, and the Community Notification Act-we have put thousands of new police officers into America's communities, given crime victims a greater voice in the criminal justice process, prevented more than a quarter million felons, fugitives, and stalkers from obtaining handguns, and protected women and children from violence and abuse in their homes and communities. ”

“ Recognizing the widespread impact of crime on our Nation, my Administration has worked hard during the past 6 years to strengthen our criminal justice system, to reduce the incidence of crime, and to champion the rights of crime victims. ”

“ First, we must recognize that most violent crimes are committed by a small percentage of criminals who too often break the laws even when they are on parole. Now those who commit crimes should be punished. And those who commit repeated, violent crimes should be told, "When you commit a third violent crime, you will be put away, and put away for good. ”

“ Community policing also requires bonds of trust between citizens and police. I ask all Americans to respect and support our law enforcement officers. And to our police, I say, our children need you as role models and heroes. Don't let them down.
The Brady bill has already stopped 44,000 people with criminal records from buying guns. The assault weapons ban is keeping 19 kinds of assault weapons out of the hands of violent gangs. I challenge the Congress to keep those laws on the books.
Our next step in the fight against crime is to take on gangs the way we once took on the mob. ”

“ No judge, who has a proper regard for his own reputation, can desire the passage of a law which will render him liable to invidious imputations. If this bill becomes a law, appeals will be made to the district judge to bail every person charged with the crime of murder, and the strongest inducements will be offered to influence his action. Should he refuse to accede to the wishes of the individual accused, or his importunate friends, he will subject himself to the charge of some unjust bias ”

“ When companies and workers work as a team they do better, and so does America.
Our fourth great challenge is to take our streets back from crime and gangs and drugs. At last we have begun to find a way to reduce crime, forming community partnerships with local police forces to catch criminals and prevent crime. This strategy, called community policing, is clearly working. Violent crime is coming down all across America. In New York City murders are down 25 percent, in St. Louis, 18 percent, in Seattle, 32 percent. ”

“ Every year, more than 36 million people in America become the victims of crime. Offenders prey on our daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, parents, grandparents, and friends. Violent crime is creating fear and insecurity in communities across our Nation.
To ensure justice and promote healing, a grassroots crime victims' movement has worked to enact numerous initiatives in State legislatures across the country-laws that now provide crucial rights for crime victims and their families. ”

“ There is work to do, work that government alone cannot do: teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime; taking time out of our own lives to serve others.
Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation. Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century. For any one of us to succeed, we must succeed as one: America. ”

“ We must continue to work together to prevent crime and to protect ourselves, our families, and our fellow Americans from violence. We must work to provide opportunity where despair reigns. We must work together to ensure that hardened criminals who prey upon the innocent receive punishment commensurate with the harm—physical, emotional, and financial—that they have inflicted. And we must continue to work together to ensure that the innocent victims of crime receive the services they need and fair treatment by our Nation's criminal justice system. ”

“ On this day, I urge every American to support those who fight to promote respect for the law, from police officers, judges, and other members of the legal system to parents, teachers, and clergy. Let us find the strength to insist that law prevails over disorder, equality over discrimination, and justice over crime and prejudice. ”

“ As the problem of crime grows and criminals become more sophisticated, knowledge of law enforcement skills must enable officers to bring every available tool to bear to prevent crime and to apprehend those who, with no regard for the rights of others, defy our laws. It is no longer sufficient for officers to know how to use a car, a gun, and a fingerprint pad; today's professionals must be proficient in disciplines as complicated and diverse as computer technology, chemical analysis, genetic fingerprinting, sociology, and psychology. ”

“ We will dedicate ourselves to promoting justice in our communities by launching new and innovative measures to combat crime and ensure public safety. We will pledge to advance justice in our society by reinvigorating our civil rights laws and our application of them. ”

“ How to escape, on the one hand, having a law rendered futile because no standard is afforded by which conduct is to be judged, and, on the other, a law so particularized as to defeat itself through the opportunities it affords for evasion, involves an exercise of judgment which is at the heart of the legislative process. It calls for the accommodation of delicate factors. But this accommodation is for the legislature to make and for us to respect, when it concerns a subject so clearly within the scope of the police power as the control of crime. ”