Proclamation 6359—Crime Prevention Month, 1991

America has committed unprecedented energy and resources to the fight against crime -- and with promising results. We have strengthened law enforcement, making record increases in the number of Federal prosecutors and agents, and we have significantly increased the capacity of Federal prisons. Through vigorous public education and prevention programs, we have started to reduce the demand for drugs -- the companion and source of far too much corruption and violence. At the same time, through stepped-up interdiction efforts, we have disrupted the deadly operations of several major drug cartels. Such intensified efforts to uphold law and order have made a difference: according to victimization surveys cited by the Department of Justice, the percentage of American households affected by crime fell last year to its lowest rate since 1975.

Despite the progress we have made, however, the incidence of crime in the United States is still much too high. More than 22 million households in the United States felt the blow of crime last year, and countless Americans live in fear for their safety. While we can place great confidence in the courage, professionalism, and skill of our law enforcement officials, we also know that government cannot do the job alone -- law enforcement officers must have the respect and the support of the people they serve.

Fortunately, many concerned Americans have already taken a stand to help prevent crime and to apprehend its perpetrators. These Americans are keeping watch over their neighborhoods and reporting any suspicious activity to police; they are helping to identify drug dealers and to clean up abandoned lots and other places that seem to attract illicit activity; and they are working to develop rewarding education and recreation programs that can help keep youngsters away from drugs. Such voluntary grass-roots efforts are vital to winning the fight against crime.

Crime Prevention Month underscores the fact that everyone has a role to play in making our streets safe -- businesses, schools, religious and voluntary organizations, the media, as well as concerned individuals and families. With that in mind, let us create a new spirit of cooperation and caring in our communities. Let us reinforce, by word, deed, and example, the values that make law and order possible: personal responsibility, respect for others, and the fundamental sense of decency that comes from knowing the difference between right and wrong. Working together, we can build a better, safer America.

The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 303, has designated October 1991 as "Crime Prevention Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 1991 as Crime Prevention Month. I call on all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixteenth.

GEORGE BUSH