The preliminary crime data released by the FBI today confirm that crime rates in America are continuing to decline for the seventh straight year. During the first 6 months of 1998, serious crime fell by another 5 percent—with large reductions in murder and other violent crimes leading the way. If these trends hold for the remainder of the year, the number of murders will have been cut by nearly one-third since Vice President Gore and I took office. This is remarkable progress, and it shows that our strategy of more police, tougher gun laws, and better crime prevention is making a difference. But our work is far from done. In the coming year, as we finish the job of putting 100,000 more police on the streets, we must continue to do everything we can to make all of our communities safer.
NOTE: This statement was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on December 12 but was embargoed for release until 6 p.m. on December 13.
William J. Clinton, Statement on Crime Rates Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/225692