For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 14, 2001
Remarks by the President on Project Safe Neighborhoods
Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Listen to the President's Remarks
11:32 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank
you. You're still the man, Mr. Mayor.
(Laughter.) It's an honor to be introduced by the
Mayor. One of the reasons why I asked him to sit next to
Laura during my State of the Union address -- or State of the Budget
address, I guess -- is because of the fantastic work the Mayor has done
with faith-based programs in Philadelphia.
He understands that government is
limited. We can spend money; but what government cannot do
is put hope into hearts of our fellow citizens. And, Mr. Mayor, I
appreciate your leadership and I'm honored that you would welcome me to
this great city. I was thinking coming in that, had things
worked out differently, Philadelphia could have been the nation's
capital. And I would have been calling you, neighbor. And
we would have had a baseball team in the nation's capital and it would
have been a pretty good one, too. (Laughter.)
I'm honored to be traveling with the Attorney
General, who I'll introduce in a minute. It's a great honor
to be with the Senior Senator from the state of Pennsylvania -- that's
Arlen Specter; as well as the Junior Senator, Rick
Santorum. Thank you both for being
here. (Applause.)
And we've got members of the congressional
delegation here, as well: Weldon, Hoeffel and Toomey. I
want to thank you guys for coming. We're flying back on Air
Force One; I look forward to listening to what you need to tell
me. I probably won't do it but, nevertheless, I look forward
to listening. (Laughter.)
I'm honored to be here with the Lieutenant
Governor and the Attorney General of the great state of
Pennsylvania. I'm sorry my close friend, the Governor, is
not here, but I understand he's trying to drum up some business for the
state of Pennsylvania, so he's got an excused absence.
It's such an honor to be here with leaders of
the National Law Organization, such as my friend, Gil Gallegos, from
the state of New Mexico, who is the President of the Fraternal Order of
Police. Thank you for being here, Gil. As well as
the other leaders.
And, most importantly, it's an honor to be
here with the men and women who wear the blue, and I want to thank you
for your service to your community and to your
nation. (Applause.)
And like the Mayor, I congratulate those
officers who were promoted to corporal. It's a well-deserved
honor, and it's fitting that it come on National Police
Week. I want to express my appreciation to all in this city
who are involved with law enforcement, and thank you for your skill and
your dedication and, most importantly, your bravery on
behalf of your fellow citizens.
During the last several years, violent crime
in America has been decreasing. And all Americans are
grateful. Between 1989 and 1999, the violent crime rate
dropped 20 percent. And that's a huge accomplishment. It
really is. But, unfortunately, American society is still far
too violent. The violent crime rate in the United States
remains among the highest in the industrialized world.
Nationally, there were 12,658 murders in 1999,
two-thirds of which were shooting deaths. And for every
fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal
shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America.
It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something
about it.
Like most major urban centers -- cities -- in
America, Philadelphia suffered from a stunning rise in violent
crime. However, Philadelphia, as the Mayor mentioned, has
made great progress. For example, in 1990, there were 500
murders; last year there were 319. And the Mayor deserves a
lot of credit; so does the Police Commissioner and the policemen and
women of Philadelphia. And for that, we're incredibly
grateful. And we're grateful for programs such as Operation
Sunrise and Safe and Sound and Youth Violence Reduction Project, which,
Mr. Mayor, is making your city more safe and more secure for all of
the citizens.
But gun violence is still a serious
problem. Three out of four murder victims in this city are
shot to death with handguns. Among young victims, that
figure rises to almost nine out of 10. In America today, a
teenager is more likely to die from a gunshot than from all natural
causes of death combined. These details have caused too many
families to bury the next generation. And for all our
children's sake, this nation must reclaim our neighborhoods and our
streets.
We need a national strategy to assure that
every community is attacking gun violence with focus and
intensity. I'm here today to announce a national initiative
to help cities like Philadelphia fight gun violence. The
program I propose we call Project Safe Neighborhoods will establish a
network of law enforcement and community initiatives targeted at gun
violence. I will involve -- it will involve
an unprecedented partnership between all levels of
government. It will increase accountability within our
systems. And it will send an unmistakable
message: if you use a gun illegally, you will do hard time.
This nation must enforce the gun laws which
exist on the books. Project Safe Neighborhoods incorporates and builds
upon the success of existing programs. In Richmond,
Virginia, for example, during the first year of what's called Project
Exile, homicides were reduced by 40 percent; and armed robberies were
reduced by 30 percent, in the first year alone. And thanks to Boston's
Operation Cease-fire, in almost two years, no one under the age of 17
was shot.
These are tremendous success stories, and ones
that are worth duplicating around our nation. My
administration is proposing to devote more than $550 million on Project
Safe Neighborhoods over the next two
years. (Applause.) The funding will be used to
hire new federal and state prosecutors, to support investigators, to
provide training and develop and promote community outreach
efforts. All newly appointed United States Attorneys will be
directed to certify to the Attorney General that the new comprehensive
gun violence program has been implemented in their districts.
(Applause.)
We're going to reduce gun violence in America,
and those who commit crimes with guns will find a determined adversary
in my administration. Domestic tranquility is a phrase made famous in
this city. Project Safe Neighborhoods is one step, and an
important step, to making that a reality.
And now to explain the program is a fine
American, a great Attorney General, John
Ashcroft. (Applause.)
11:40 A.M. EDT
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