The 1997 National Crime Victimization Survey released by the Department of Justice today shows that violent crime fell 7 percent last year and 21 percent since I took office. With the violent crime rate now its lowest level since 1973, Americans are safer today than they have been in many years. These new figures again show that our strategy of more police, stricter gun laws, and better crime prevention is working. But we are not yet done. Working together, both in Washington and in communities across our Nation, we must redouble our efforts to make our streets, homes, and schools safer for all Americans.
NOTE: This statement was embargoed for release until 9 a.m.
William J. Clinton, Statement on the 1997 National Crime Victimization Survey Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/225198