The rate of serious crime reported by State and local law enforcement agencies has dropped significantly in recent years. The 1999 Crime Index is down 19 percent from 1992, the eighth consecutive annual decline. Violent crimes, including murders and rapes, have fallen to the lowest level in two decades. Preliminary figures for the first six months of 2000 show a further decline in the crime rate. This success can be attributed to a number of factors, including the strong economy, demographic changes, and Federal aid to the front-line State and local police departments.
Drug abuse imposes a variety of costs on the Nation.
These costs include cash costs for the investigation and prosecution of drug-related crimes and the incarceration and treatment of drug offenders, property losses of crime victims and insurance companies, and lost earnings due to illness and premature death. This figure does not capture the human costs associated with drug abuse-wasted opportunities, families torn apart, and lives lost. Drug abuse in the United States is down from 20 years ago, but it remains unacceptably high. Among teenagers, the rate of illegal drug abuse is higher than in the population in general. The number of young adults, ages 18-25, who have used drugs in the past month continues to rise, increasing from 14.7 percent in 1997 to 18.8 percent in 1999, nearly half again as much as the 13.1 percent rate in 1992.