FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AG
FEBRUARY 14, 1995                                  (202) 616-2771
                                                                 
                STATEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

The fight to put 100,000 more police officers on the streets of
America in our neighborhoods and in our communities and to keep
them there has just begun.

A police officer can make such a difference in a community.  he
can make it safer, and she can make its resident feel safer.  But
too many police departments and too many sheriffs offices across
the country do not have enough officers too effectively serve the
community.

President Clinton heard that message.  Congress heard that
message last year and passed a crime bill that's tough and smart. 
It pledged to put 100,000 officers on the streets.  The bill was
balanced between punishment, policing and prevention.

We moved immediately and within five months we have authorized
the funding of 17,000 officers.  When you talk with a sheriff or
police chief who's just gotten a grant, you'll see what a
difference it makes.  We're not going to back down.

But this is a sad day.  The only winner today is politics as
usual.  Over the objections of America's police officers and the
organizations who represent them, the majority of the House of
Representatives reneged on a promise to put 100,000 officers on
the streets.  Unfortunately the legislation that's now moving
through the House of Representatives offers no guarantees that
one single officer will be hired.  It snarls police hiring.  It
pours out billions in taxpayer dollars without accountability and
without any knowledge of how it's going to be spent and it's
spending the money on bureaucrats, where last year's bill spent
it on police officers.

This debate has just begun.  President Clinton has pledged to
veto any attempt to repeal or undermine our commitment to put
100,000 police on the streets.  The margin of today's vote on the
policing issue indicates that our pledge will stand.  As the
Senate moves to take up anti-crime legislation, we are going to
fight as hard as we can to ensure that public safety and good
policing prevail over politics.
                              # # #
95-087