From: cklausme@jarthur.claremont.edu (Chris Klausmeier)
Subject: Fwd from CLINTON list: position on crime & drugs
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 14:51:13 GMT


Here is the official Clinton/Gore position paper on crime and drugs.  Sorry
for the formatting, that's how I got it.

-- Chris

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========================================================================


                       CLINTON  GORE ON CRIME AND DRUGS



Despite all the tough talk on crime we hear from Washington, crime and drug use
 are expanding
dramatically in America.  We have a national problem on our hands that requires
 a tough national
response.  Bill Clinton has a national crime strategy that will use the powers
 of the Presidency to prevent
and punish crime.

We need to put more police on the streets of our cities, to allow the same law
 enforcement officers to
walk the same blocks day in and day out, to work as friends with their neighbors
 to prevent crime from
happening, as well as to catch criminals after crime occurs.

We cant go four more years without a plan to fight crime and drugs in our cities
 and in our schools.  You
may not agree with everything in Bill Clintons plan, but you have a right to
 know what hell do and where
he stands.

Make neighborhoods safe again

 Fight crime by putting 100,000 new police officers on the streets; create a
 National Police Corps and
offer veterans and active military personnel a chance to become law enforcement
 officers.
 Give young offenders a second opportunity to become decent citizens by
 supporting the creation of
boot camps  for non-violent first-time offenders.  These shock incarceration
 programs require rigorous
exercise and arduous work to instill discipline, boost self-esteem, and teach
 decency and respect for the
law.

Expand federal crime assistance

 Set standards for urban, suburban, and rural crime emergency areas.  Make
 communities hit hardest
by crime eligible for federal matching funds to assist in the war on crime when
 they create a
comprehensive crime control plan that gets results and adopts proven anti-crime
 measures like:
 Community-based policing: In communities across America, local law enforcement
 officials are stopping
crimes before they happen by moving from emergency response to community-based
 law enforcement.
By taking officers out of patrol cars and putting increasing numbers back on the
 beat, cities are winning
the war on crime.
 Drug treatment on demand: Thousands of addicts have volunteered to take
 themselves off the streets,
only to hear the government tell them that they have to wait six months.  In a
 Clinton Administration,
federal assistance will help communities dramatically increase their ability to
 offer drug treatment to
everyone who needs help.
 Drug education in schools: With only 5 percent of the worlds population,
 Americans consume
approximately 50 percent of all illegal drugs.  To decrease demand, we need to
 reach our kids when they
are young and teach them the evils of drug abuse.  Drug education programs and
 school-based clinics
must provide our children with access to the drug counseling, education, and
 outreach programs they
need to stop drug addiction before it begins.

Keep guns out of the hands of criminals

 Provide the leadership we need to pass the Brady Bill, which will create a
 waiting period for handgun
purchases to keep firearms off the streets and out of the hands of criminals.
 Ban assault weapons like the so-called Street Sweeper  that have no legitimate
 hunting purpose; limit
access to multiple-round clips like the one used in the tragic killings in
 Killeen, Texas.

Empower public housing residents

 Give residents of public housing the chance to organize themselves to eliminate
 the drugs and weapons
from public housing; support efforts like Operation Clean Sweep in Chicago,
 which helps residents take
back their housing from gangs and dealers.

Take back our schools

 Create a Safe Schools Initiative, so that children can focus on learning again.
  We will increase funding
to pay for metal detectors and security personnel; encourage states to grant
 school officials greater
authority to conduct locker and automobile searches; and expand funding for
 mentoring, counseling, and
outreach programs so kids in trouble with crime, gangs, or drugs can turn to
 someone for help.

Get tough on white collar crime

 Bill Clinton will work to pass tougher criminal penalties for white collar
 crimes  including
environmental crimes  so that serious white collar criminals serve jail time.
 Plea bargaining will be limited to questions of prison time, not how much money
 a white collar crook
gets to keep.
 Jail sentences will be served in real prisons, not high-tech summer camps.

Fighting Drugs

Governor Clinton has been tough on crime and drugs.  Penalties have been
 increased for repeat offenders,
drug dealers, and violent crimes.  At the same time, the victims rights have
 been secured, crime and drug
prevention programs have been structured into schools and businesses, and an
 innovative "boot camp"
program for first-time offenders has been established.  Governor Clinton has
 carried out the death penalty
four times during his tenure.

 Strengthened drug laws (for example, the rebuttable presumption for intent to
 deliver cocaine was
reduced from 2 grams to 1 gram), toughened penalties for individuals convicted
 of selling drugs on or
near school property, and increased the number of narcotics officers on the
 beat.

 Under Governor Clintons leadership, a highly successful marijuana eradication
 program resulted in the
destruction of over one million marijuana plants with an estimated value of more
 than $1 billion from
1982 through 1991.

 Established boot camps, a 105-day program of paramilitary exercise, arduous
 work, drug treatment
and education to instill discipline in non-violent first offenders.  To date,
 boot camp participants have a
low recidivism rate of 13.2 percent.


Protecting Victims' Rights

 Fought for victims' rights: In 1977, as Attorney General, Clinton submitted two
 bills to provide
compensation to crime victims.  As Governor, Clinton passed laws which guarantee
 the right of victims
to be present in the courtroom in all phases of the judicial process; a
 Victim/Witness Coordinator assists
victims and their families in coping with the criminal justice system; and a
 Victim Reparations Act
compensates victims and their families.The National Organization for Victim
 Assistance has recognized
Arkansas program as one of the most progressive in the country.

 Adopted new good time  policies encouraging inmate education.  Since 1983,
 almost 4,000 inmates
have received their GEDs through this program, and have had a low recidivism
 rate (11.2 percent).

Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs,alt.drugs