FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AG
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1997                      (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
    RENO, LAW ENFORCEMENT, CRIME VICTIMS URGE JUVENILE CRIME
                       PREVENTION

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Congress continues work on juvenile
justice legislation, Attorney General Janet Reno today cited new
data showing that the peak hours for violent crime are in the
first few hours after school has ended.  The study, the first
multi-state release of data on this subject, buttresses the
Clinton Administration's drive to restore afterschool crime
prevention programs and to provide balance to the legislation
that may be voted on in the near future.

     "It is better to prevent another crime from occurring than
to punish the criminal after another victim is harmed," said
Reno, who was joined today by Montgomery County Executive Douglas
Duncan and crime prevention advocates affiliated with Fight
Crime:  Invest in Kids (Fight Crime).  

     Sanford A. Newman, President of Fight Crime, a national
crime prevention organization, presented a report to Reno that
reveals peak hours for violent juvenile crime are from 3:00pm to
8:00pm.  The report includes data covering Alabama, Colorado,
Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Utah.

     "The further proof that juvenile crime peaks in the hours
after school reinforces my commitment to effective after-school
programs," added Reno.  

     Ellen Halbert, a crime survivor and member of the Fight
Crime National Advisory Committee, spoke about the importance of
crime prevention from a victim's point of view.  "Victims
everywhere understand that crime prevention is victim 
prevention."

     The Rockville, Maryland, event took place at the Other Way
Day Treatment Center for at-risk youth.
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