EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00 P.M.                                      AG
SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 1997                               (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

               STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO 
           ON THE RECORD-BREAKING DROP IN VIOLENT CRIME

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno released the
following statement in response to the release by the FBI of
preliminary figures for 1996 from the Uniform Crime Reporting
Program:

     "This is the largest drop in violent crime since 1961, when
the FBI began to release statistics for the 50 states.  President
Clinton's plan to combat crime is working: penalties are tougher,
tens of thousands of illegal gun sales have been thwarted, more
than 57,000 new police have been paid for, and we are helping more
young people stay on the right path.

     "Violent crime has fallen for several years, but we can not
let up.  It's time to enact President Clinton's comprehensive youth
violence legislation, which builds on the 1994 Crime Act with
tough, balanced penalties and programs to target gangs, guns and
drugs."
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