A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

THE WHITE HOUSE  Office of the Press Secretary ______________________________________________________________________  For Immediate Release                                  October , 1999 

PRESIDENT CLINTON: WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
TO COMBAT YOUTH VIOLENCE

October 19, 1999

At a youth violence conference at the Capitol today, President Clinton will speak with over 350 teen leaders from around the country about key priorities for the nation's future. First, President Clinton will urge Congress to pass a budget that invests in young people and makes education our first priority. Second, the President will release the second Annual Report on School Safety and announce that the Justice Department, in partnership with MTV, will distribute multimedia kits to prevent youth violence. Finally, President Clinton will call on Congress to enact common-sense gun laws and long-overdue hate crimes legislation.

DEMANDING A BUDGET THAT INVESTS IN AMERICA'S FUTURE

Today, President Clinton will call on Congress to pass a budget that makes education America's number one priority. He will demand a budget that reduces class sizes and funds other critical education initiatives, puts up to 50,000 more community police on the streets, protects the environment, and saves Social Security while paying down the debt. He will call on Congress to make the tough choices to accomplish all of this while maintaining our fiscal discipline, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and paying down the debt.

UNVEILING NEW TOOLS TO PREVENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Second Annual Report on School Safety. On Sunday, the FBI released new statistics for 1998 showing that serious crime dropped for the seventh year in a row, the longest continuous decline in nearly 40 years. It also showed that the murder rate reached its lowest point in 31 years. Building on that good news, the President today will release the findings of the second Annual Report on School Safety - a report that gives parents, principals, youth, and policymakers a snapshot of school crime, as well as information on practical steps they can take to make schools safer. Key findings on school crime include:

• While homicides in school remain extremely rare, multiple victim school homicides have increased. Less than one percent of the total number of children nationwide who were murdered or committed suicide were killed at school. And the number of school-associated violent death incidents decreased from 55 in the 1992-93 school year to 46 in the 1997-98 school year. However, the number of multiple victim homicide events has steadily increased from zero in 1993-94 school year to five in the last school year.

• Overall crime rates are down at school and away from school. The overall school crime rate declined from 155 school-related crimes for every 1,000 students ages 12 to 18 in 1993, to about 102 crimes in 1997. Between 1993 and 1997, crime victimization rates outside of school declined from 139 crimes for every 1,000 students to 117 crimes.

• Most school crime is not serious violent crime. Serious violent crime at schools comprises about ten percent of all school crime, and has continued to decline. About 90 percent of all injuries at school were not the result of violence, but were unintentional (e.g., through falls, sports). Property crimes constitute the majority of school crime: in 1997, thefts accounted for 61 percent of all crime committed against students.

• Fewer students are carrying weapons to school and getting into fights. Between 1993 and 1997, there was a decrease in the percentage of high school students -- across sex, grade, and ethnic subgroups -- who carried a weapon on school property, as well as a decline in the percentage of students who got in physical fights on school property. The number of students expelled for bringing a gun to school decreased from 5,724 in the 1996-97 school year to 3,930 in the 1997-98 school year.

• Minority students and younger students feel less safe at school than others. Black and Hispanic 4th-grade students were more likely to report feeling "very unsafe" at school than white students (9 percent and 6 percent, respectively, compared to 2 percent of white students). Notably, 12th grade students of any race were less likely than 4th or 8th grade students to report feeling "very unsafe" at school.

Providing resources and solutions for young people in partnership with MTV. Today the President will also announce that the Justice Department -- in partnership with MTV and the Department of Education -- will send out 200,000 copies of an enhanced CD with an interactive conflict resolution program, and a Youth Action Guide focused on mentoring and other steps young people can take to prevent youth violence. The guides and CDs will be sent to youth organizations such as after school programs, Boys and Girls Clubs, juvenile justice and law enforcement agencies as part of MTV's year-long anti-violence campaign. First announced at the White House School Safety Conference last year, the MTV campaign has been educating young people on youth violence issues and linking them to national anti-violence resources.

CALLING ON CONGRESS TO FINISH THE JOB ON GUNS AND HATE CRIMES

Enacting common sense gun legislation. Six months after the tragedy at Columbine High School, the President will call on the Republican leadership now to do its part to reduce youth violence by passing common sense gun legislation. The President will challenge the Congress to finish its work and quickly pass a balanced, bipartisan juvenile crime bill that includes strong gun measures that would: close the gun show loophole; require child safety locks for handguns; ban the importation of large capacity ammunition clips; and bar violent juveniles from owning guns for life.

Passing an expanded Federal hate crimes law. The President will also urge Congress to pass the bipartisan Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999. This legislation, if enacted, would strengthen current law by making it easier to prosecute crimes based on race, color, religion and national origin and by expanding coverage to include crimes based on sexual orientation, gender and disability.

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